Aparajito (1956)

93% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
92% of users liked it
(2,816 ratings)

The Unvanquished is the second of Indian director Satyajit Ray's "Apu Trilogy" (the first was Pather Panchali). Ray's young protagonist Apu is permitted a formal education over the gentle objections of his mother, who'd wanted him to be priest. Eventually, Apu earns a university scholarship and… More The Unvanquished is the second of Indian director Satyajit Ray's "Apu Trilogy" (the first was Pather Panchali). Ray's young protagonist Apu is permitted a formal education over the gentle objections of his mother, who'd wanted him to be priest. Eventually, Apu earns a university scholarship and arrives in the teeming metropolis of Calcutta. Overwhelmed by life in the Big City, the impressionable country boy forgets about his loving mother. By the time Apu returns to his home, he finds it's too late to pick up pieces. Smaran Ghosal plays the adult Apu, with Pinaki Sen Gupta portraying his younger counterpart in the flashback. Aparajito was derived from a novel by Bibhutibhusan. The film also features a musical score by Ravi Shankar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 48 min.
Directed By: Satyajit Ray
Written By: Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Satyajit Ray
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1956 Wide
On DVD: Oct 28, 2003

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Ray's relaxed, open style had a tremendous influence on the film world of 1956, but time has absorbed some of its originality.
Variety Staff, Variety
It doesn't have quite the tension or quite the variety of mood but it has a special brooding quality and a more explicit conflict between East and West.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
It's a masterpiece for which terms like 'simplicity' and 'profundity' seem inadequate.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
It is done with such rare feeling and skill at pictorial imagery, and with such sympathetic understanding of Indian character on the part of Mr. Ray, that it develops a sort of hypnotism for the serene and tolerant viewer.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Standing above fashion, it creates a world so convincing that it becomes, for a time, another life we might have lived.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
There's pleasure in witnessing Apu's thrill of knowledge, but sadness when his ambitions create an inevitable break with his mother.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The second panel in Ray's masterpiece, Thr Apu Trilogy, is less dramatic than the first or last, but it's just as insightful and emotionally touching.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A thoughtful, colorful, and poetic story of life in India.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
each tightly constructed story flows naturally like the Ganges River without artificial contrivances
, Film4
Ray is a masterful storyteller, whose slow pace is too much for some, but rewards those willing to be drawn into his world.