Themes: Arranged Marriages, Fathers and Sons, Death of a Partner
Main Cast: Alok Chakravarty, Swapan Mukherji, Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Shapan Mukerji, S. Alke Chakravarty
Release Year: 1959
Country: IN
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Originally released in India as Apur Sansar, The World of Apu was the last of Satyajit Ray's "Apu Trilogy." Pather Panchali (1955) covered Apu's early years in his native village, while Aparajito (1956) detailed his school years and the tragedy that temporarily brought him back home. Now Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee), having abandoned college due to lack of money, hopes to find success as a writer. He is sidetracked from this goal when he meets Aparna (Sharmila Tagore), whose impending wedding is canceled when the groom turns out to be mentally unstable. To save Aparna from a custom-dictated life of spinsterhood, Apu marries her himself. When she dies giving birth, the grieving Apu cannot bring himself to meet his son, and in fact deserts the boy for five years before learning how to gracefully accept his lot in life. Like the other entries in the trilogy, The World of Apu was based on Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhaya's semi-autobiographical novel Aparajito. In the manner typical of his earlier works, director Ray adopts a straightforward, realistic approach, avoiding any sort of attention-getting directorial techniques, the better to simply tell his story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The third installment in Satyajit Ray's internationally acclaimed "Apu Trilogy," The World of Apu displays all of Ray's trademark restraint and lyricism. Like its predecessors, Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito (1957), Apu owes much to the elegant camera work of Jean Renoir and to the look and tone of such Italian neorealist masterworks as Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945) and Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). Like the neorealists, Ray leaves his takes long, shoots on location, and employs non-actors, creating a beautifully wrought film that unfolds at an unhurried pace and focuses on simple moments of everyday life. What separates these films from their Italian counterparts is Ray's sensitive use of the landscape, which he loads up with meaning. The repeated imagery of a river, slow-moving yet irresistible, recalls Apu's inevitable maturation. In contrast to the episodically constructed Pather Panchali, Apu is a more linear work, centered on Apu's accidental marriage to a beautiful though unfortunate woman, his falling in love with her, and his coming to terms with her loss. Perhaps the film's most memorable sequence is a montage of quiet, gently humorous moments as the two learn to understand each other. Rarely has a film so eloquently and sensitively captured young love, even though barely a word is exchanged. The World of Apu is a profound and deeply moving exploration of the human condition, exuding a transcendent wisdom rarely seen in cinema outside of the works of Yasujiro Ozu or Robert Bresson. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Apur Sansar (Bengali: অপুর সংসার Opur Shôngshar, yr. The World of Apu), also known as The World of Apu, is the third and final part of The Apu Trilogy, about a boy named Apu in early twentieth century Bengal, directed by Satyajit Ray.
A large part of the story unfolds in Calcutta. Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee) is an unemployed graduate living in a rented room in Calcutta. Despite his teacher's advice to go to University, he is unable to do so because he can't afford it. He tries to find a job, while barely getting by providing private tuition. His main passion is however, writing a novel partially based on his own life and get it published some day. One day he meets his old friend Pulu, who coaxes him to join him on a trip to his village in Khulna to attend the marriage of a cousin named Aparna (Sharmila Tagore).
On the day of the marriage it turns out that the bridegroom has a serious mental disorder. The bride's mother cancels the marriage, despite the father's protests. He and the other villagers believe, according to prevalent Hindu tradition, that the young bride must be wedded off during the previously appointed auspicious hour. Otherwise, she will have to remain unmarried all her life. Apu, after initially refusing when requested by a few villagers, ultimately decides to take Pulu's advice and come to the rescue of the bride by agreeing to marry her. He returns with Aparna to his apartment in Calcutta after the wedding. He takes up a clerical job, and a loving relationship begins to bloom between them. Yet the young couple's blissful days are cut short when Aparna dies while giving birth to their son, Kajal. Apu is overcome with grief and holds the child responsible for his wife's death.
He shuns his worldly responsibilities and becomes a recluse - travelling to different corners of India, while the child is left with his maternal grandparents. Meanwhile, Apu throws away his manuscript for the novel he had been writing over the years. A few years later, Pulu finds Kajal growing wild and uncared for. He then seeks out Apu working at a mining quarry and advises Apu one last time to take up his fatherly responsibility. At last, Apu decides to come back to reality and reunite with his son. When he reaches his in-laws' place, Kajal, having seen him for the first time in his life, at first does not accept him as a father. Eventually he accepts Apu as a friend and they return to Calcutta together to start life afresh.
At Rotten Tomatoes, The World of Apu has a 100% fresh rating based on an aggregate of 16 reviews.[1] In 1992, Sight & Sound (the British Film Institute's film magazine) ranked The Apu Trilogy at #88 in its Critics' Poll list of all-time greatest films.[2] In 2002, a combined list of Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll results ranked The World of Apu at #93 in the list.[3] In 1998, the Asian film magazine Cinemaya's critics' poll of all-time greatest films ranked The Apu Trilogy at #7 on the list.[4] In 1999, The Village Voice ranked The Apu Trilogy at #54 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list, based on a poll of critics.[5]
In 1996, The World of Apu was included in Movieline Magazine's "100 Greatest Foreign Films".[6][7] In 2001, film critic Roger Ebert included The Apu Trilogy in his list of "100 Great Movies" of all time.[8] In 2002, The World of Apu featured in "The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made".[9] In 2005, The Apu Trilogy was included in Time magazine's All-Time 100 best movies list.[10]
In Gregory Nava's 1995 film My Family, the final scene is duplicated from the final scene of Apur Sansar. References to The World of Apu are also found in several films of Jean-Luc Godard.[11] In Paul Auster's 2008 novel Man in the Dark, two characters have a discussion about the film.[12]
