While this film lacks the kind of action favored in Hollywood movies, I can definitely see why Pather Panchali is so celebrated. You really get to understand each character’s motivations. Durga steals because she sees her family struggling and wants to help (and maybe also because she’s a little jealous of the other girls). Apu is an innocent and playful child, though we see him become more serious at the end. He’s fascinated with things like trains and bows and arrows, and when Durga dies he asks if she’s just sleeping. Harihar, their father, is a scholar who dreams of supporting his family off of his own original writings and always believes (a little naively) that everything will work itself out. He is ultimately proven wrong, but largely by chance (the consecutive storms and the delays in his finding work). Sarbajaya, the mother, has given up her own dreams to take up the responsibility of raising her children. She “nags” the others because of the pressure of seemingly failing in that responsibility, as she sees her children dressed in rags and Durga resorting to thievery. The old “Auntie” just wants to live her last days freely and die on her own terms. Her end is particularly sad because she dies alone and outside instead of in her ancestral home with her family, as she wished.

There are no truly dis-likable characters in this story. There’s no villain. Instead, the conflict arises because each character is struggling to do more than just survive (which is already difficult considering their poverty and isolation). Each person just wants to live how they want to live, and circumstances unfortunately get in the way.

Overall, I would definitely say this is the best film I’ve seen in the last two years. To anyone who likes to focus on characters as complex people, with their struggles and aspirations, I would recommend this film. When I find the time, I look forward to viewing the later two films of the trilogy.

Note: placed in the “Film” section in the absence of a more specific category