Jalsaghar (The Music Room) (1958)

Critic Reviews

• Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

  Ray's social insight is not dimmed by treating his subject in this distant, allegorical manner; if anything it's intensified by the closer focus he's able to train on his characters.

• Bosley Crowther, New York Times

  For all its exotic stimulations, it is an exceedingly simple, moving film, expressing a human dilemma that should be comprehensible to all.

• James Berardinelli, ReelViews

  It's a fascinating snapshot of Indian culture in the 1930s, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of an inflated opinion of self-worth.

• Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

  A wonderful tale of pride and the fools it makes of men.

• Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  Newly available on video at last in a high-quality print, it is the story of a man who has been compared to King Lear because of his pride, stubbornness, and the way he loses everything that matters.

• Phil Hall, Film Threat

  This production is an extraordinary mixture of distinctive Bengali culture and universal themes of emotional loss.

• Sean Gandert, Paste Magazine

  It's a full-on Shakespearean tragedy that manages to be both critical of and sympathetic to its main character.

• Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

  A remarkable film.

• Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online

  [Satyajit Ray's] most accomplished film up that time and many critics still hold it as the director's masterpiece.

• James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

  both a nuanced psychological portrait of an aristocrat in decline and a showcase for India's best musical talent

• Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

  A surprisingly sympathetic elegy for the feudal class, or at least one of its sad representatives...the notion of lost legacy informs the film's distraught last word: 'blood.' [Blu-ray]

• Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine

  The feudal world is a crippling minefield of delusion and pride in Satyajit Ray's The Music Room, which finally gets a long-awaited and vibrant release on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

• Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

  Moving look at the power of music, shot with a rich visual style.

• John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

  Like a lotus flower, Satyajit Ray's Jalsagbar (The Music Room) gently reveals its enigmatic central character

• Geoff Andrew, Time Out

  Slow, rapt and hypnotic, it is -- given some appreciation of Indian music -- a remarkable experience.

• Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt

  One of my favorite films, The Music Room bathes its viewers in Indian culture while remaining universally accessible with its masterful photography and stunning music.

• , TV Guide's Movie Guide

  A fine example of Ray's directorial mastery.

• Rob Nelson, Nashville Scene

  The director's moody visual style befits his complex look at a character not unlike Orson Welles' Charles Foster Kane--a misanthrope who, despite his wealth of toys, has doomed himself to living arrogantly impoverished and alone.

Read all 18 critic reviews