The World of Apu (1959)

The third installment in Satyajit Ray's internationally acclaimed "Apu Trilogy," The World of Apu displays all of Ray's trademark restraint and lyricism. Like its predecessors, Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito (1957), Apu owes much to the elegant camera work of Jean Renoir and to the look and tone of such Italian neorealist masterworks as Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945) and Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). Like the neorealists, Ray leaves his takes long, shoots on location, and employs non-actors, creating a beautifully wrought film that unfolds at an unhurried pace and focuses on simple moments of everyday life. What separates these films from their Italian counterparts is Ray's sensitive use of the landscape, which he loads up with meaning. The repeated imagery of a river, slow-moving yet irresistible, recalls Apu's inevitable maturation. In contrast to the episodically constructed Pather Panchali, Apu is a more linear work, centered on Apu's accidental marriage to a beautiful though unfortunate woman, his falling in love with her, and his coming to terms with her loss. Perhaps the film's most memorable sequence is a montage of quiet, gently humorous moments as the two learn to understand each other. Rarely has a film so eloquently and sensitively captured young love, even though barely a word is exchanged. The World of Apu is a profound and deeply moving exploration of the human condition, exuding a transcendent wisdom rarely seen in cinema outside of the works of Yasujiro Ozu or Robert Bresson. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide