The World of Apu

Released Oct 4, 1959

1h 43m

Drama

List

97%

29 Reviews

Tomatometer

95%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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Critics Consensus

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

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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

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Time Out

Great acting, remarkable use of locations, a humanistic ethos that's both wise and wary.

Aug 7, 2012

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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

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Priyan B

This is cinema! 10/10

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/14/24

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

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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

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Satyajit Ray

Director

Alok Chakravarty

Kajal

Soumitra Chatterjee

Apurba Roy

Sharmila Tagore

Aparna

Swapan Mukherjee

Pulu

Satyajit Ray

Producer

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96%

93%

Aparajito

100%

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Devi

100%

91%

Jalsaghar

98%

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Pather Panchali

100%

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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
Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Video, Sony Pictures Classics, Edward Harrison [us], Merchant-Ivory Productions [us]
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Bangla
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 4, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 20, 2015
Runtime: 1h 43m

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