The Cloud-Capped Star

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William L The Cloud-Capped Star is one of those films in which you can tell that virtually every step taken by the director, the actors, the cinematographer, and the writers was done with intent and purpose. Thinking back after watching it, there are so many individual moments and entire scenes that feature clever production tricks intended to provide additional impact to the story; the abstract sound design and clever audio overlays are impressive, a variety of shooting styles that will often surprise you with their creativity and candor, and sincere and often pained performances to name a few (Gita for one of film's all time worst siblings). On the surface it's a clear-cut melodrama (and even in that context it packs a punch), but Ghatak created the film as a commentary on division, and the particular suffering inflicted by the political upheaval of the Indian Partition, depicting it through a humanist narrative on sacrifice, love, and suffering for others, even when they are unappreciative (seriously, this is just a terrible family). In traditional society, where does the line fall between loyalty to family and personal sacrifice? There is also a curious depiction of the starving artist, and art's role in society, in the depiction of Chatterjee's Shankar, a singer who believes that he cannot make money on his craft until he has perfected it, and so leaves Choudhury's Nita as the main breadwinner while constantly mooching off of her, but ends up a success and the sole family member who really cares for Nita after she contracts her illness. What does that say about Ghetak, as director and wirter of the film and a fellow artist to his fictional Shankar? A tragic film made with a masterful touch. (4.5/5) Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/21/21 Full Review Audience Member An unsympathetic story of woman's sacrifice for her family. How family can unapologetically cruel , the movies shows that. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review S R 1001 movies to see before you die. Visually beautiful, a little slow at times, but it still manages to show the struggles of rural India. It was on CRI. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/22/23 Full Review joydeb m This is the most brutal film made by a bengali director ever.A bleak,right on your face, naked study of family crisis in poverty. The pain of the main lead is such that you can feel it, so you will weep for her but there is no way out of her pain. It will disgust you but your heart will cry for her as long as you remember the film. Only the acting part is so so of some characters but it is easily overcome by the brutal, realistic story. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Extremely well-acted family melodrama. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member <i>"Brother, I want to survive."</i> Tragic injustice and a harsh reality revolving a noble heart whose physical beauty is merely something symbolic to remind us of her purity. Ritwik Ghatak, a renowned name whose importance easily matches Satyajit Ray, begins his trilogy about the Partition of India in 1947 with overwhelming commitment. Hypocritical figures and visual beauty mixed together sporadically. 96/100 Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Cloud-Capped Star

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