The Unvanquished (Aparajito)

1956 – 110 min – Original version w. FR subs

Cast: Pinaki Sengupta, Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Smaran Ghosal…

In the second part of The Apu Trilogy the young boy faces up death and uprooting. 1920, the former indebted Brahmin came to live with his wife and children, including Apu, in Benares, the holy city of Hinduism. After a faintness in the Ghats, the father dies, and the mother decides to return to the countryside with Apu, hoping that he will become a priest. However, Apu wants to continue his studies in Calcutta, and his mother eventually accepts, sacrificing all his resources for him. During the holiday period, he returns to the village to see his mother, who has fallen very ill. But he gets bored quickly, and soon returns to urban life.

The Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray (1921-1992), who was born in Calcutta, remains one of the greatest poets in cinema history. Of the 37 films of his imposing career, ARSMONDO offers 5 of his most accomplished works, which combine an ability to create engaging and complex characters struggling with an arduous reality and a look at the evolution of Bengali society in particular. Satyajit Ray received an Oscar for his work in 1992.