The World of Apu

The World of Apu completes, in alternations of suffering and joy, one of the most vital and abundant movies ever made.

Great acting, remarkable use of locations, a humanistic ethos that's both wise and wary.

Director Satyajit Ray, with greater technical means, makes the truth of his relationships and the revelation of India the main trumps of the film. Wit, tenderness and intrinsic human revelations illuminate this unusual film.

Though the rhythm of the storytelling is choppy and Apu himself seems incompletely realized, the first appearance of the remarkable Sharmila Tagore as his well-to-do bride upgrades the film's middle section.

An impressive capstone is put not only upon a touching human drama but also upon the development of a genuine artist's skill.

What we sense all through The Apu Trilogy is a different kind of life than we are used to.

...in Aparajito and Apur Sansar the scope of the cinematography opens up to reflect Apu's broadening experience of life.

Before our eyes Apu has grown up.

...exquisitely joyful and romantic.

Director Satyajit Ray forever changed the face of India's immense film industry with this uniquely personal, practically homemade, trilogy.

Humanist film-making at its best.

It's a classic filmed in an old-fashioned timeless way that never goes out of fashion.