Satyajit Ray's Haunting Poetry

If you find yourself a connoisseur of good cinema or have a thing for really good art-house Indie (as in Indian) films, and are in the Washington D.C. area, make sure you try and stop off to see the National Gallery of Art's screening tomorrow (May 7) of the 1955 Satyajit Ray classic, Pather Panchali, a story of an impoverished family in a Bengali village circa 1919, and the movie that many would say placed Satyajit ray on the international film map. In celebration of the film's fiftieth anniversary (which would have actually been in 2005), Partha Mitter, research professor at the University of Sussex, will discuss the work of his friend Satyajit Ray. The lecture will be followed by a screening of a 35 mm archival print of Pather Panchali from the collection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This event is free, open to the public, begins at 4 PM, and should last around 2 hours and 15 minutes. Amazon.com calls this film an "essential video" in its editorial review, and goes on to say,

"this truly remarkable feat of storytelling is a must-see kind of movie. Ray reveals a gift for presenting stories that unfold gently, one engaging scene at time. This film delivers an amazing emotional punch that will linger in your consciousness for some time, not in spite of, but because of its simplicity."

posted by sajit @ 5:07 PM