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TO VISIT YOUR GODDAMN MOTHER

Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★★

Traditionalism versus modernism is at the heart of this second part of the Apu trilogy, which continued the international success of Pather Panchali for director Satyajit Ray and accompanies Apu as he matures and longs to depart his childhood village to discover himself. The filmmaker finds creative kinetic energy in the development of its chain of events, and this noticeably accentuates the impression of two worlds colliding for the central protagonist, portrayed wonderfully by Pinaki Sen Gupta and Smaran Ghosal at different stages of the narrative. 

The dynamic expressiveness within the story is substantial, and there are multiple scenes which resonate profoundly, such as the scenes involving detachment from the family home and the complicated relationship with his mother. Karuna…

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The Unvanquished

The boy who once chased trains now boards one. Apu is now going through his childhood in the light of a new city (benares and calcutta), a new language (hindi and english) and a newer self.

Holy Cycle of Banaras
After the loss of Durga, the ray family decide to move to benares. The holiest city in all of India, a city which breathes with sacred rhythm of temples, ghats, river ganga, chants echoing with morning prayers and the people being troubled by monkeys. Harihar earns by reading scriptures, while Apu plays around the ghats of ganga and Sarbajaya again carries the world on her shoulders without complaint. But the sense of peace doesn't last long. One day…

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Helmed by returning director Satyajit Ray, the second installment of The Apu Trilogy that nevertheless stands on its own without a problem, Aparajito follows the Roy family after the events of the previous film, Pather Panchali. The family is now living in the city of Varanasi, which is in contrast with the rural setting of the first film. If roads were frequently emphasized in Pather Panchali, this time stairs are often seen, like the stairs of the ghat situated on the bank of the Ganges, the stairs in Apu's college in Calcutta or the staircase that leads to Apu's room above his work place. They not only indicate the change of setting to a more modern urban one but their…

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In my opinion, the greatest moment in Satyajit Ray's Aparajito comes when Apu goes to the train station, buys a ticket but never boards the train. He walks back home to his mother whose eyes are still stuck on the little road. The very moment ensures that Apu's love for his mother is not lost in the western world of cigarettes and electric bulbs. Hence what comes thereafter hits you like a cold blow where loss feels like your very own.

Aparajito is a little film about the most profound and inevitable thing in our life; trying to cope up with death and grow a little each time it occurs. Apu never hugs his mother in the entirety of the…

Review by mayureshojha18 ★★★★

raw, heartbreaking and timeless. Aparajito directed by Satyajit Ray is a deeply emotional journey of change, loss and longing. The bond between Apu (Pinaki Sengupta/Smaran Ghosal) and his mother, Sarbajaya (Karuna Banerjee) evolves beautifully from love and dependence to distance and heartbreak. Ray captures the pain of a mother watching her son grow away and it’s absolutely devastating.

The transition from the rural village to the ghats of Varanasi is visually stunning with Subrata Mitra cinematography painting every frame like a masterpiece. Ravi Shankar haunting score perfectly blends with the film melancholic tone making every moment linger. The silence speaks as much as the dialogues and Karuna Banerjee raw performance is nothing short of a masterclass.

Satyajit Ray doesn’t just…

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2nd part of the Apu trilogy.

The movie starts right where the first one ends and gets setup more of as Apu’s coming of age drama. His first exposure to city life, modern society and science leading him to raise questions on old traditions and customs, sets the perspective and approach straight. The relationship between the innocent widowed mother and adolescent son gets so poignantly captured and conveyed. Any loss on screen hits you hard and breaks your heart. A masterfully crafted sequel indeed.

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I cannot adequately express the amount of anger I feel towards Apu.

While I don’t think this film was quite as powerful or full as Pather Panchali, Aparajito is still a masterclass of empathy, character development, and coming of age. The camera moves with a tender delicacy, often seemingly having its own emotional reactions to moments. Like the first film in the trilogy, this film transported me to a world I know nothing about, but nonetheless it’s fascinating, and still somehow relatable on a personal level. 

This should probably be a high 8 (mainly because it really doesn’t feel like a complete film by itself) but this is easily the most I’ve cried while watching a film so if that doesn’t constitute at least a 9 I don’t know what does.

9.0 / 10

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Aparajito is superficially different to Pather Panchali. It is less rural and much more urban. Less time is spent exploring trivial moments of life, because Aparajito actually has a plot. Pather Panchali captures childhood as loose fragments, but Aparajito moves from Apu's youth to his teenage years and finally his independence. To tell this story requires the inclusion of plot, or at least crucial scenes of plot. This is not to critique Aparajito, I am just making an observation. Though I do think it is a significantly weaker work than Pather Panchali.

Aparajito is still a masterful film however. It depicts beautifully the decisions of life and the process of moving on. It is a film of railways, a life…

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One image, repeated three times: a mother stands in a doorway, looking out at the road, her son disappearing into the distance (either literally or in her mind’s eye). In these three short scenes, an entire story within a story is told. We witness a progression detailed in the nuances of her facial expressions, a world of information in the eyes. Three scenes depicting the distilled sensation of something slipping away. 

In the earliest moment of Sarbajaya standing in that doorway, her son Apu is leaving home to attend school in Calcutta for the very first time. Leaving her alone. The only family she has left. Young and eager, Apu is excited to experience the world. He practically runs out…

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Life has a tendency to feel like a series of tug-of-wars between the things we need to do, the things we want to do, the things others want us to do and the things we should do. Nowhere is this more true than when you’re first cast out into the world as a young adult. Suddenly crushed by independence and responsibility, it feels that no matter what you do you’ll have to take on the guilt of disappointing others or yourself.

Watching the mom in this suffer from empty nest syndrome is painful. If you can, avoid watching this with your mother, either her, you or both of you will end up in tears. It’s tough to confront the loneliness of our own parents. It’s hard not to feel responsible in some way, even if there’s truly no one to blame.

Call your mom if you can find the time.

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Aparajito, the second film in Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy, opens with the camera looking out the window of a train, that symbol of modernity from Pather Panchali. As it races across a bridge and steel beams flash by, we leave the country for the city. Aparajito will go on to eloquently dramatize similar oppositions: tradition versus invention; religion versus science; adolescence versus adulthood. All square off in the life of Apu, and indeed in his heart.

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