Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Micransix Crappy film

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Eric Stevenson For some reason, I kept looking at this movie like it said, "Panther Panchali". That seemed to make sense, seeing as how panthers are in India. I watched these movies out of order, like I tend to do. It doesn't really matter, because this was the first in the entire series. It is of course a great movie. It can be hard for me to follow movies with subtitles. It's even harder when there's no action. This is the problem that many movies have. Since countries around the world speak different languages, we're forced to have dumber films become more popular worldwide. I'm looking at you, Transformers. The best part of this movie is probably the down to earth nature. Everything is as realistic as it can be and I just love looking at cats.The basic plot is that Apu's father goes off to try to make money. We get a ton of little things going on. The aunt dies, his sister is accused of stealing beads, and many others. As a slice of life story, you can expect a lot of little things to go on. It seems like we rarely see depictions of poor families. It's from a different culture, but we can still relate and feel sorry for everybody. ****

heres-johnny-1 It is so rare to be so lost within a movie and it's world during a viewing that it's an outright privilege to get to watch Pather Panchali. From beginning to end, it is a perfectly told and emotional story about a family's struggle and tragedy from a life of poverty in rural Bangladesh. It's a simple story, a gentle one, with universally relatable characters and relationships between them that anyone in the world can relate to.This film and trilogy is one of a kind. Pather Panchali is a demonstration of what a movie can actually be, of how great a film can be. I don't feel that I can overhype this film at all. It's an experience, it has characters that you deeply care about even though they can also grate on your nerves in a very human way. Of all the films I have ever seen, I can only think of two other films that have reached the same heights of cinema as this. I saw this for the first time over ten years ago and its imagery and story has haunted me ever since.

Hitchcoc I have waited a long time to view this trilogy. I finally managed to get a copy at my local library and just viewed the first part. This is such a subtle, graphic portrayal of life in India in the Fifties (an probably today). In a small village, a family is just barely keeping going. A man, his wife, and their two children live on a subsistence level, trying not to starve. He is a man of honor and, on the word of a neighbor that his family was owed money, has given over an orchard to them. This may or may not be true. Now when his daughter steals a bit of fruit from the orchard, she is branded a thief. The man is an idealist. He is a poet and playwright who is optimistic that his work will be published or performed. Meanwhile, he works for nothing, trusting his employer to give him back wages. The family lives on handfuls of rice, also looking out for an ancient aunt. They are shunned by neighbors. The wife takes on the huge burden of the family, respecting the wishes of her husband, but knowing that he is a hopeless romantic. Apu, for whom the trilogy is named, is a little boy who manages to kee constantly on the move. He is sensitive and hard to read. His sister realizes that her peers will get married and have a better life, but she is convinced this will never happen for her (their economic state pretty much assures this.). This film is technically magnificent. Ray does things with the camera that are so on point. The black and white photography is stunning. His close-ups of the locals are masterful. We live and die with the family, hoping things will get better. The father is sort of Hindu priest who goes to another city to perform a religious ceremony for a rich man and disappears for over five months. Upon his return he is devastated by horrible news. The story of this family will now move on to another place for Part 2. It is as much about the human spirit as any film I've seen.

Siddhesh Jaiswal I can't believe I waited so long to watch this movie. I recently rented it on Google Movies with some credits I had, half-way into the movie and I regretted my decision to have not purchased it outright. This is not just a movie it is an event in cinematic history you have to experience. You feel an unreal connection with all the characters and they linger with you long after the end credits. I don't know if this movie will ever leave me, I certainly hope not. I understand now why they call Satyajit Raj one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. All the actors have acted amazingly for being amateurs. I simply cannot forget Durga or the old aunt, Indir Thakrun. Chunibala Devi, who plays the aging aunt delivers one of the best performances I have ever seen. Watch this movie and let it sink in. You will simply be unable to comprehend all the different emotions you encounter throughout its run time.I will wait some time before watching the rest of the trilogy. This is way too much for me right now.