Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

The World of Apu

Play trailer Poster for The World of Apu Released Oct 4, 1959 1h 43m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
97% Tomatometer 29 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
This lauded Indian drama, the third part of a trilogy, finds Apu Roy (Alok Chakravarty), now a young unemployed man, living in poverty and attempting to be a writer. When his old school friend Pulu (Swapan Mukherjee) convinces him to go on a trip to a family wedding, surprising circumstances end in Apu marrying the bride, Aparna (Soumitra Chatterjee). Set on being a responsible husband, Apu finds a job and becomes close to his wife, but tragedy strikes, leaving him at yet another crossroads.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

The World of Apu

The World of Apu

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Achingly poignant, beautifully shot, and evocatively atmospheric, The World of Apu closes out Satyajit Ray's classic trilogy on a high note.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (29) Critics Reviews
John Gillett Sight & Sound Apu is not only the logical last act of the trilogy but a unique work in its own right. Feb 10, 2020 Full Review TIME Magazine The World of Apu completes, in alternations of suffering and joy, one of the most vital and abundant movies ever made. Aug 14, 2012 Full Review Time Out Great acting, remarkable use of locations, a humanistic ethos that's both wise and wary. Aug 7, 2012 Full Review James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk As the concluding film of a much beloved trilogy, Apur Sansar is a fitting capstone to one of world cinema’s greatest coming-of-age stories. Rated: 4/4 Mar 27, 2024 Full Review Penelope Gilliatt Observer (UK) It is a very remarkable work, lyrically acted, cut with a slow, opulent rhythm, and filmed in a black and white that seems to have a bloom on it, like a grape. Mar 5, 2024 Full Review Dwight MacDonald Esquire Magazine What was direct has now become self-conscious. "Pather" was about a family in a village, "Apu" is about a young writer in a city, a more complex theme and I'm not sure Ray is up to it. Jul 12, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (191) audience reviews
Priyan B This is cinema! 10/10 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/08/24 Full Review John W Fantastic film about life, love, grief, and parenthood. One of the best ever, and a fitting end to the awesome Apu Trilogy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/01/24 Full Review Dani G A great way to close the story of poor Apu. Every movie was slightly better than the previous one Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/21/23 Full Review Audience Member For westerners, like myself, the beauty and wonder of the Indian culture and humanity of the people was supremely captured in Ray's masterpiece. I've seen the film three times and each reveals new insights. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member By now I'm quite interested in this Apu character but the final instalment was a bit too wild and we'll polished compared to the first two. This Apu didn't convince me, seemed like a different character. Finding a beautiful wife, you knew the happiness couldn't last do it was set up for another untimely death. The. He goes a bit mad… as you would if you were Apu and finally reunited with young child, helping him find happiness again ahhhh. Sombre but lacking grit, I found the pacing too jaunty but the narrative arc is now complete and I can forget about Apu. Not a bad little trilogy this. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review William L C'mon Ray, I'm just living life over here tryna see a lot of interesting movies and you gotta hit me with some feelings. The open-ended conclusion of Apu's tale covers his adulthood, and cannot resist incorporating what is at this point a tradition of some form of terrible personal loss. Though less groundbreaking than Pather Panchali and less thematically unique than Aparajito (with its greater depth with respect to the Indian identity), Apur Sansar is a profoundly human story that is made all the more affecting by the existence of the prior two films. Subjecting a character to a series of painful setbacks over a span of decades as he attempts to navigate life, eventually pushing him into the depths of introspective, aimless depression, only to provide a single, redemptive moment as he connects with the son whom he has been avoiding, finally confronting reality and finding in it a hope for the future for both of their sakes; it may seem naive and panderingly melancholic on paper, but it is absolutely not. Instead, it's philosophy in film. It's amazing that this is Chatterjee's debut performance in film, he feels magnetic. I'm still a bit torn as to the pacing of this film; at times it seems off and inconsistent, but often the erratic nature ends up feeling intentional, heightening the spontaneity of certain moments. Regardless, Apur Sansar is a beautiful film and a worthy conclusion to the Apu Trilogy. (4.5/5) Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/21 Full Review Read all reviews
The World of Apu

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Aparajito 96% 93% Aparajito Watchlist Devi 100% 91% Devi Watchlist Jalsaghar 100% 91% Jalsaghar Watchlist Thirst 100% 89% Thirst Watchlist Charulata 93% 91% Charulata Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis This lauded Indian drama, the third part of a trilogy, finds Apu Roy (Alok Chakravarty), now a young unemployed man, living in poverty and attempting to be a writer. When his old school friend Pulu (Swapan Mukherjee) convinces him to go on a trip to a family wedding, surprising circumstances end in Apu marrying the bride, Aparna (Soumitra Chatterjee). Set on being a responsible husband, Apu finds a job and becomes close to his wife, but tragedy strikes, leaving him at yet another crossroads.
Director
Satyajit Ray
Producer
Satyajit Ray
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics, Columbia TriStar Home Video, Merchant-Ivory Productions [us], Edward Harrison [us]
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Bangla
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 4, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 20, 2015
Runtime
1h 43m
Most Popular at Home Now