Audience Member
What a wonderful little film this is. Using essentially just three actors and 70 minutes of film, director Satyajit Ray is masterfully precise in telling a haunting story.
The premise is quite simple: a man's car breaks down and a wealthy stranger lets him stay in his remote house for the night. To the guest's great surprise, the stranger's wife turns out to be his former lover, unbeknownst to her husband. We find out through flashbacks that the two had actually been very close to marrying, but he wasn't ready, and let her slip away.
The film reunites Soumitra Chatterjee and Madhabi Mukherjee, who had played in Ray's 'Charulata' the year before, which also featured a love triangle with a married woman. While that story was about temptation and forbidden love, this one is about the torture of regret, and on top of that, seeing the love one lost later in life, content with a new partner. Is it possible to get a second chance?
Mukherjee turns in a great performance, and the flashbacks allow us to contrast her loving expressions from the past with the cool and measured looks she gives Chatterjee in the present. Neither time period is as simple as that, and she's especially good at portraying her conflicting emotions in the latter. Chatterjee may be a little dramatic in his expressions at times, but overall, it's in keeping with his character. Haradhan Bandopadhyay, who plays the husband, is quite good as he unwittingly tortures his guest, criticizing Bengalis while drinking too much early on, and then later commenting on how the remoteness of his bungalow made it a perfect spot for their honeymoon.
Ray also allows him to make a point about India's caste system, as he says that while he was bothered by the system the British had employed for 150 years, he came to terms with it because if one was rich, it made things convenient. It was simply a matter of 'drowning the conscience' with alcohol.
It's in moments like these that we really see the character of the individuals. Chatterjee's character is sensitive but indecisive, and Bandopadhyay's is friendly enough to give a stranded traveler a place to stay, but boorish and entitled. Perhaps we can also see that in the tiger pelts he has prominently displayed in his home. Then again, he did act to get what he wanted, and got the girl.
We also have to ponder small moments in order to understand Mukherjee's emotions. As Chatterjee questions her and presses the issue, she often returns questions with questions, and it's hard to understand how she feels. She gives him sleeping pills it what seems like a minor gesture the night he stays with them, but there is so much meaning to it when she says "I don't think you will" in response to him asking what will happen if he takes more than two. She knows his timidity. This also comes out in his flashbacks. In one frustrated moment, she says "What's the use, Ami? What you really need isn't more time...but something else." Earlier in their relationship, she says "Where there's no courage, one resorts to excuses."
The ending is brilliant and slightly ambiguous. For what it's worth, my interpretation is that by showing up for her sleeping pills, she not only makes her decision known, but also that despite outward appearances, she is sad in her marriage, and needs those pills to cope. She, too, is haunted - and yet the time is past, and there's no going back.
Clean, concise, wonderfully understated, and yet, emotionally impactful.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Another brilliant piece from Satyajit Ray. This one is a short feature at 1hr10mins, but is a fully developed story with a tremendous impact. It definitely affected me. What a tremendous filmmaker Ray is, and i discovered him late. Do yourself a favour and seek his films out!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Not as acclaimed as the other Satyajit Ray-Madhabi Mukherjee flicks, but gives an insight into why Ray makes wonderful movies out of seemingly irrelevant plots.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
wat a movie. and wat a slap straight to the face! still goosebumps on my shoulders!
must see for anyone,hu loves movies! just see it!! wow!!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
most european movies are like this movie!!!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A short film with two of Ray's top actors. The story, one of cowardice and regret and second chances, is very engaging and you can never tell which way it's going to turn. It's a little slow to get started, especially for such a brief movie, but other than that it's a splendid work. The score is unusual for a Ray film of this period, but very effective and evocative, and of course Chatterjee and Mukherjee are superb as always. Also some wonderful camerawork.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
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