Impoverished priest Harihar Ray (Kanu Bannerjee),dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
The realist narrative style of "Pather Panchali" was influenced by Italian neorealism and the works of French director Jean Renoir. In 1949 Renoir came to Calcutta to shoot his film "The River" (1951). Ray, a founding member of the Calcutta Film Society (established in 1947), helped him scout for locations in the countryside. When Ray told him about his longstanding wish to film Pather Panchali, Renoir encouraged him to proceed.
I absolutely love Renoir's "River", so I am pleased to see there is a connection between that film and this one. Unfortunately for me ,I saw a copy that was less than great. It looked pretty washed out. The 2015 Criterion version is no doubt the must-see edition, but I did not have it available to me.
The realist narrative style of "Pather Panchali" was influenced by Italian neorealism and the works of French director Jean Renoir. In 1949 Renoir came to Calcutta to shoot his film "The River" (1951). Ray, a founding member of the Calcutta Film Society (established in 1947), helped him scout for locations in the countryside. When Ray told him about his longstanding wish to film Pather Panchali, Renoir encouraged him to proceed.
I absolutely love Renoir's "River", so I am pleased to see there is a connection between that film and this one. Unfortunately for me ,I saw a copy that was less than great. It looked pretty washed out. The 2015 Criterion version is no doubt the must-see edition, but I did not have it available to me.