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The Expedition

Play trailer The Expedition 1962 2h 30m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
In India, on the seedy periphery of Calcutta, cabbie Narsingh (Soumitra Chatterjee) is fired after a big-shot policeman catches him driving his car dangerously. Now penniless, he takes a job shipping opium for the crooked Sukhanram (Charuprakash Ghosh). After having his heart broken by a Christian woman he loves, Narsingh slides deeper into the criminal life. However, he sees his chance for redemption when he meets Sukhanram's prostitute, Gulabi (Waheeda Rehman), who wants to escape her pimp.
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The Expedition

Critics Reviews

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Trevor Johnston Time Out Not major Ray, but effective and accessible enough to register his greatest success at the Bengali box office. Oct 20, 2017 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Weaves a trite commercial film action story but is rescued from its ordinariness by the director's usual humanistic touches. Rated: B Mar 31, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member One of the finest films of Ray. If you like his other films like Apur Sansar, Pather Panchali, The Coward, The Middleman, and Charulata, then you should not miss this one. It is a story of a taxi driver in Bengal who holds dear his Rajput ancestry as a descendant of traditional warriors, and faces moral dilemmas that the warrior-rebel must face. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member My first Satyajit Ray film about a taxi driver & the obstacles he faces and in the end the dignity & breaking free thing , Not a bad movie but nothing special, three stars generously Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Ray's most successful film is one of his longest films, although he wasn't involved in the making and writing process. it still has his signatures, especially the absolutely amazing opening shot with the mirrors. A taxi driver loses his job and decides to go back to his hometown with his mechanic to try and start over again. When they encounter a rich merchant on the road whose car broke down, they decide to become business partners with his taxi, and promising a very rich sum that is hard to refuse. Although the merchant deals also in drugs and prostitution, the moral ambiguity challenges the driver thoughts, whether to stay and be successful, or to break free. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting story about a taxi driver who goes to work for a criminal business man after losing his job due to a stupid car race. When I got interested in this film some time ago - the English title is "The Expedition" - I had pictured someting totally different than a film about a taxi driver... ;-) But never the less, it's a good film. My first but definitely not last encounter with Satyajit Ray. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member The film touches on a lot of interesting issues, although I probably didn't get the full implications of the caste/religious differences (I think I got the gist of it, though). However, it's a bit too blunt and for a Satyajit Ray film it seems to lack his special touch. Ray regular Soumitra Chatterjee is in fine form though, playing against type instead of his usual educated sophisticate. A good movie, but not one of Ray's best. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member An excellent Ray film, blending the primary theme of caste ingeniously with religion and an examination of how under it all, everyone's just the same. It is culturally specific, so if you don't really understand post-colonial Indian culture, you will be confused and a bit lost. You also have to put everything into its cultural perspective which is hard if you aren't well-versed in Indian customs and tradition. I do think that everyone should watch at least 1 Satyajit Ray movie in their lifetime... but this may not be it for everyone. I, however, greatly enjoyed it. A- Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Expedition

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis In India, on the seedy periphery of Calcutta, cabbie Narsingh (Soumitra Chatterjee) is fired after a big-shot policeman catches him driving his car dangerously. Now penniless, he takes a job shipping opium for the crooked Sukhanram (Charuprakash Ghosh). After having his heart broken by a Christian woman he loves, Narsingh slides deeper into the criminal life. However, he sees his chance for redemption when he meets Sukhanram's prostitute, Gulabi (Waheeda Rehman), who wants to escape her pimp.
Director
Satyajit Ray
Producer
Bhola Nath Roy
Screenwriter
Satyajit Ray
Production Co
Angel Digital Private Limited
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Bangla
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Runtime
2h 30m
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