i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

There really are films we should see every now and again to regain our actual sense of the way things are behind all the window dressing we build around our perceptions to try to make them fit our requirements and expectations. To call the story told largely without resort to dialogue, but very much with non-verbal sounds, visual imagery, including body postures and facial expressions, "stunning" is far from adequate. But the most honest thing one may be able to say about Satyajit Ray's tour de force is that although it should be required viewing for virtually everyone who takes their automobile, their computer, their cell phone, their paid vacation, and their "right" to "live as they choose" for granted... only those who know the Yogic Hindu and Pali Cannon Buddhist "way" will likely "get it." For this is not only The Way Life Is for half the world's (over-) population even 60 years after it was first screened, this is proof that all our "stuff" is just that, regardless of how effectively it lulls us into our (supposedly) painkilling trance.

A real masterpiece indeed in every aspect: atmosphere, interpretation, dramatic stoutness of the plot and a remarkable gallery of authentic characters. In West Bengal (India) a poor family lives in a rural village: father, mother, son, daughter and an old almost invalid aunt. Money is scarce and debts pour. The father decides to leave for the city to get a better job. Daily life is shown in a very realistic detailed way. Everything is really dramatic and tragedy ends by falling upon the rest of the family, pushing the man who had come back meanwhile to leave the village and head for the city with his family. This is one of those movies you must decidedly not to miss.

I have waited a long time to view this trilogy. I finally managed to get a copy at my local library and just viewed the first part. This is such a subtle, graphic portrayal of life in India in the Fifties (an probably today). In a small village, a family is just barely keeping going. A man, his wife, and their two children live on a subsistence level, trying not to starve. He is a man of honor and, on the word of a neighbor that his family was owed money, has given over an orchard to them. This may or may not be true. Now when his daughter steals a bit of fruit from the orchard, she is branded a thief. The man is an idealist. He is a poet and playwright who is optimistic that his work will be published or performed. Meanwhile, he works for nothing, trusting his employer to give him back wages. The family lives on handfuls of rice, also looking out for an ancient aunt. They are shunned by neighbors. The wife takes on the huge burden of the family, respecting the wishes of her husband, but knowing that he is a hopeless romantic. Apu, for whom the trilogy is named, is a little boy who manages to kee constantly on the move. He is sensitive and hard to read. His sister realizes that her peers will get married and have a better life, but she is convinced this will never happen for her (their economic state pretty much assures this.). This film is technically magnificent. Ray does things with the camera that are so on point. The black and white photography is stunning. His close-ups of the locals are masterful. We live and die with the family, hoping things will get better. The father is sort of Hindu priest who goes to another city to perform a religious ceremony for a rich man and disappears for over five months. Upon his return he is devastated by horrible news. The story of this family will now move on to another place for Part 2. It is as much about the human spirit as any film I've seen.

I can't believe I waited so long to watch this movie. I recently rented it on Google Movies with some credits I had, half-way into the movie and I regretted my decision to have not purchased it outright. This is not just a movie it is an event in cinematic history you have to experience. You feel an unreal connection with all the characters and they linger with you long after the end credits. I don't know if this movie will ever leave me, I certainly hope not. I understand now why they call Satyajit Raj one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. All the actors have acted amazingly for being amateurs. I simply cannot forget Durga or the old aunt, Indir Thakrun. Chunibala Devi, who plays the aging aunt delivers one of the best performances I have ever seen. Watch this movie and let it sink in. You will simply be unable to comprehend all the different emotions you encounter throughout its run time.I will wait some time before watching the rest of the trilogy. This is way too much for me right now.