Lewes Film Club - The Apu Triogy

I saw Indian director Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy a couple of months back on DVD, and have been raving about it ever since. People ask me what’s so good about it, and I’m at pains to answer. “He went to London as a young man, watched loads of neo-realism movies, went back to India, and made some himself,” I gush. “He didn’t have any budget to start with, and no experience. The acting is amazing, and the cinematography is beautiful. The characterisation is unbelievably strong. And the symbolism! Man, the symbolism.”

It’s always difficult to do great pieces of artwork justice in words. Suffice to say, Ray’s masterpiece, made between 1955 and 1959, is well worth seeing. It takes you right into the heart on West Bengal in the period between 1930 and 1950, following the fortunes of a high-caste family who have fallen on hard times, as they move from the countryside, to Benares and finally, in the case of the main protagonist Apu, to Calcutta. The three films are best seen back to back, but each has stand-alone value, and the best thing is that they get better and better. At the end of ‘World of Apu’, the remarkable tale of the young man’s entry into adulthood, you wish that Ray had gone further than making a trilogy. These are films to watch again and again. Don’t miss a rare chance to see them on the big screen. DL