The World of Apu

Very manipulative (hasn't Apu had enough grief by now?), but the romance (brief as it is) is so touching. Also wonderful photography throughout, with a nice mixture of rural and urban scenes.

throughout the trilogy there is the sense that although not much turns out as you'd want it to, and you are relegated to being just another small person with another small history, there is to be found contentment because, well, in the grand history of things life is okay, and things tend to suck but also be good as well. apu faces many small tragedies and victories, and none of these are diminished or overstated. perhaps pather is best, but this doesn't have the rushed editing of the first two.

More of the same from the Apu trilogy - that is, gorgeous photography, a sublime Shankar score, and wonderful acting and direction. It's arguably a little emotionally manipulative, but in a film of such beauty, it's hard to complain. If a trilogy is to be judged on the basis of consistent excellence from all three entries, the Apu trilogy may be the best I've ever seen.

Ray had matured since the prior parts of the Apu trilogy, as this final part is better directed and written, richer and more intriguing, at least up to a certain point, about two thirds of the way through. A bad decision is made with the plot, which just seems overboard considering our protagonist's biography, and from then on the movie really is a bit manipulative. Still, it's a very good movie.

The best of the trilogy and one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. There's a great scene followed by a great scene followed by a great scene... Best moment: Near the beginning, when Apu tells Pulu what his book is going to be about, and he talks about the main character (based off of himself) and softly you can hear the music from the first movie - CHILLS!

Beautiful end to a masterful trilogy. The story has a more constructed feel than before but it works well for a final chapter and the film never lets its sentiments go overboard despite being super moving. The story has a slower contemplative pace which takes care of the only minor complaint I had with the previous two movies that felt a bit rushed with the editing. Lovely acting, lovely writing, lovely cinematography, lovely editing, lovely music.

The culmination of experience, Apu's swansong through the subtle semblance of objectivity as we view the insular world of our maturing protagonist. The trains, rain's embrace, and cloth-cut eyes all provide familiar echoes to his past in the technical front-runner of the trilogy. Sadly, the critical bias of the camera on Apu may alienate the viewer, and there's a sense of pandering to a wider audience with heightened melodrama. Nevertheless, a more than worthy finale.

Apu's life doesn't get any easier, but at least it all ends on a mostly uplifting note.

I miss Indir, and Durga, and Harihar, and Sarbajaya. It seems Apu is destined to survive his loved ones, to have undesirable circumstances thrust upon him and to contend with perpetual grief. It is to Ray's credit that this onslaught is rendered with delicate sensitivity and general good taste, but also with a feeling for the joys and comforts that make everything worth it. This three part opus is, after all, a love-and-life-affirming encouragement.

Really capitalizes on what we've already learned about Apu's life. Like his father, Apu sets out to write a great novel. Like his mother, Apu's new wife toils over the home and misses Apu when he takes away from home. What's so interesting about this entire trilogy is that, despite the numerous tragedies, it has a positive outlook on life and its experiences. And a great ending.

Ray loves faces, and it shows in this final installment of the Apu Trilogy. The close-up is a regular occurrence in this film, and Ray uses it to especially good effect here, drawing out much about the characters from the simple act of gazing upon their faces. This works best in those sublime scenes tracing Apu's marriage. Apu faces something of an existential crisis in the film, and the warmth of the conclusion is an act of defiance in a world where it is so easy to be isolated.

The last of the trilogy sees old Apu going through the mill a bit. While it occasionally seems a bit heavy-handed in this regard, it retains a lot of the humanity of the preceding two films, and successfully bookends an excellent trilogy.

This could've been a fantastic finale if Apu's life hadn't been cut short once again. I still enjoyed the film, especially the romance, which I thought was handled well, and once again the music, which I feel has become its own character after 3 films. It transports us to an unknown territory and joins us along Apu's turbulent journey through life. A worthy end to one of the best trilogies ever made.

The worst of the Apu trilogy, easily. Some parts were just too heavy handed and manipulative for its own good. I got it with the first 2 movies, Apu's life isn't exactly charmed. Ray was just beating a dead horse at some parts. Still, some scenes are very well done and I love the ending.

Better made but less interesting than the first film and more emotionally deep than the second film.

The Aparna scenes are as good as anything in Pather Panchali, while the rest is about as good as Aparajito. A great end to a gorgeous and lyrical trilogy.

(PATHER OF THE BRIDE)

Not as good as the other 2

The final film of the Apu trilogy continues with its themes of loss, lost dreams, and poverty. Continues to bring us to a world and way of living entirely foreign to what most of us have experienced. All three films, however, point out the universal experiences we as humans have, no matter how different our cultures and lives may be. Just an incredibly sound trilogy.

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Subtly self-reflexive in a way that seems to express all at once the joy and agony of living and of filmmaking, and reinforces that Ray's cinema, perhaps more than that of any other filmmaker, exalts in the unity of these things.

Is it a hot take to think that the way Aparna goes out is a full on fridging of what is the movie's best character? I like the first hour and last minute of this as much as or more than anything else in the trilogy, but I am mildly frustrated with the film as a whole.

The romance segment is just brilliantly done.

The final film of Ray's Apu Trilogy finds Apu starting adulthood with very little focus, but changing drastically when rapidly confronted by marriage, tragedy and fatherhood. All of life seems to be contained in these masterpieces.

Where APARAJITO focused on the maternal struggle about how much to hold on tight and how much to let go, here it is the paternal struggle to adopt the child that is the theme, but it will be the scenes with Sharmila Tagore (who was 12 at the time) that remain in the memory.

The falling-in-love montage is some of the most beautiful cinema. The decision for Apu's last two losses to take place off screen is masterful and amplifies his grief. Where the former taught his ambition no bounds, the latter throws his definition of freedom into disarray. This is earned through the beauty and believability of his having re-learned how to love. I love that he identifies the need to earn respect and his parental identity with his son. What empathy. Masterful final chapter.

Impressive end to this trilogy, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the others -- it seemed a little slower and a little aimless. But the character interactions -- between a new wife, a best friend, and a son -- are incredible.

The story forced me to think Apu is going to settle down and actually get a proper life. But as i got along with it, hell no. It seems like Apu is going through a bad trip inward a good trip. He's going to get a wife, but holy shit at what cost and what condition. The music score is also perfectly fit. The first time Apu plays Bansuri is remarkable. It sets the moods for despair to joy and hope. Now I'm totally convinced that Asians made the most gorgeous films of all time.

91.50

[saw this a few years ago].

The last part I liked less, like Aparajito it's less poetic and lyrical and more dramatic and plotdriven then Pather Panchali, but without the more lighter touches of coming of age drama Aparajito had.

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

I don't know that I could ever choose a favorite part of the Apu trilogy, but I also don't think I ever want to. This is a beautiful work about the fragility of life itself, about how all good things must come to an end, even if we never really run out of good things to make life worth it. That shot where Apu stands at the train and the camera rises above him into the sky is one of my favorite shots EVER.

Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee) is trying to make it as a writer (without much success) when he finds himself married to Aparna (Sharmila Tagore). They are very happy, but she dies in childbirth and he, grief-stricken, becomes a vagabond. As Apu matures, so does Ray's direction; this is by far the most cinematically accomplished of the three, and arguably the most moving; the final beats may be a little too tidy, but they're decidedly affecting. The trilogy is even greater than the sum of its parts.

Should've ended with him tossing his novel away.

Den svakeste i Apu-trilogien, men like fullt en sterk film. Avslutter historien om Apu som nå er ferdig med å studere, og som har en drøm om å bli forfatter. I motsetning til de to første filmene føles denne på sett og vis mer kunstig, spesielt hele plottet som involverer ekteskapet han går inn i. Like fullt er avslutningen fin, og flere av enkeltscenene er på høyde med de to første filmene. Ray er helt klart den meste spennende indiske regissøren jeg har sett film av.

Beautiful, slow moving cinema.

Beauty juxtaposed with squalor. Utterly moving.

Decent ending for the trilogy, but the technical and visual elements are its best factors.

#187

180

Good Movie

Ironically this is the only Apu trilogy I have been able to see, but it has profoundly effected me since. A truly transcendant tale of despair and redemption rarely matched in cinema.

165

More polished, mature and unpretentious than Ray's other efforts, embarking a deep, emotion-driven tale of one man who stares down grief in every turn.

The best of the trilogy, though only by a small margin. Ray's direction was good before but it feels a bit more polished and gives the film a little more life than its predecessors. While the story of a young man finding his way in life is not especially complex, the character is and it provides some interesting things to think about. I felt the first two were a little too subdued and there are some points near the end where this goes a bit too far the other way, but the ending is pitch perfect.

# 178

Can't Apu get a break?