This is a movie that changed my prejudice against Indian movies. Indian movies are no longer just synonymous with flashy songs and dances and cheap morality plays. The great "Apu Trilogy" in film history is not like the Indian movies in my impression, but the humanity and humanistic sentiments contained in the clear narrative context are extremely touching. The protagonist's life is formed by accidental collision, and he encounters a lifetime of encounters. Apu's true love, but the blow of the accident is equally unforgettable. To a certain extent, Apu's sorrow is the sorrow of the audience. This kind of emotional resonance requires the director's profound emotional control ability. At this point On top of that, Rey can be called "a master of craftsmanship but no workmanship".
The first song: "Song of the Earth" eclipsed all the local movies of later generations. The people who watched it were so depressed, as if Rey deliberately "spread" his father and let his son Apu go. Faced with this poverty and death, it is even more sad. The only moment that made me feel relaxed was before the heavy rain came: the perfect combination of cheerful music and dragonflies touching the water. India, where life is flowing, is also beautiful without its bright colors. Ray, who has been in the country for 55 years, can actually shoot such a great work, the trivial daily life of an ordinary Indian family, with the heavy texture of a documentary, the light and shadow music of "Impressionism", The world in the eyes of the little boy Apu is his sister who passed away early, his lonely great-aunt, the barren land, poetic fragments, and his melancholy mother. All the nostalgia is left unspoken, I just look back and hate the rush.
The Indian countryside under the lens only shows the suffering and mediocre lives of ordinary people. This film and the later "Song of the River" and "Song of the Big Tree" constitute the "Apu Trilogy". On the screen, Apu goes through a life process that seems familiar to the audience from a baby to a teenager and middle age. A kind of pure sadness. Apu's life has become a microcosm of the lives of countless Indian civilians. At that time, the most popular commercial films in India were Hindi song and dance films, which used beautiful studio settings and stereotyped melodrama to complete the screen dream. But this film is on the contrary. There is no singing and dancing, and it lacks a legendary plot. All the characters in the film are placed in an original situation by the director.
The director uses the dual themes of man and nature, man and society, and uses a long, soothing and calm narrative rhythm to capture the pulse of Indian society and the experience of Indian society in scenes of seemingly careless daily life. extremely profound changes. The black-and-white images filter out the dirty stench of suffering life, and the display of the characters' minds understands the humbleness of human nature. Time leaves traces. The imprint of fate on Apu's ignorant memory is real, but it is not imposed by the adult world. of heaviness. The unforgettable scene of the lotus leaves blown by the wind and the birds taking flight has given the lives of poor people in rural India a universal power to move people's hearts.
The second song: "Song of the River" cancels the multiple clues, multiple perspectives and critical presentation of the life at the bottom in the first part. The relationship between mother and child becomes the main line, studying abroad and entering the society. The emotional estrangement and alienation it brings between people, the loneliness and despair of your mother in a distant land, the desolation cast by the evening shadow, the flickering light in your eyebrows, the illusions crushed by time, the clothes on your body, the entanglement The clues, a tremor, affect the infinite dense thoughts, but the daylily wilts silently, the contrast between the black and white picture is obvious, and the composition is natural and beautiful.
At the end, the mother watched her son return alone in the dusk. No one was seen, but only fireflies were flying in the night. She finally passed away with regret. Apu was destined to be a sad traveler, but this scene will last forever. Stay in my heart. The hardships of life have tempered a gentle and mean woman into a great indomitable person. When you are looking forward to the return of your son, have you ever thought of your great-aunt who is lying in the wild? Maybe when Apu collapsed on the ground and cried, he felt that his whole life was completely finished. Maybe when he packed up his mother's belongings and set off to return to Calcutta, he also understood that losing his parents was just a part of life. Just started on the journey.
In each of the Apu trilogy, at least one person dies, and they are all women. Grandmother, sister, mother, wife, is this the legendary evil star? The scheduling is even better than the first film, and it has the deepest understanding and understanding of the plight of poor people. The transition from childhood to adulthood is also the process by which the weight of death, responsibility, and choice truly takes shape in Apu's consciousness. People cannot change the environment and have to leave passively. From the Indian countryside to the big city of Calcutta, Apu's choice between family love and study, the old society and new ideas makes him mature and change little by little. The scenes of waiting and parting are heartbreaking. .
The third song: "Song of the Big Tree" is the last part of the "Apu Trilogy", which adds a tragic connotation and is the connection with the lover and children. Apu experienced the best love in his life and then suffered from the grief of losing his wife in middle age. The most outstanding aspect of the film is that it views the interconnectedness between human beings and nature from the perspective of a boy under ten years old. The hometown is far away from the dusty land, and I miss you for a moment and return home. The thousands of chariots and horses chirp endlessly, and all the rounds of destruction are left to my own devices. The trilogy uses a vulgar and minimalist attitude to say one thing: the epitome of life.
The Apu Trilogy is like a promise of the possibilities of cinema. It created trends and created a believable world that dealt with a time, place and culture so different from our own but that touched our human emotions directly and deeply. It's like a prayer, telling us with certainty that this is where the movie can go, no matter how lost we are in our own cynicism.
It is definitely different from the general Indian song and dance or comedy genres, but it has a kind of realism, where you encounter obstacles in finding a job, a sweet new marriage, sinking after losing your wife, and finding a son to gain a new life. Coupled with an appropriate soundtrack, the characters are vividly portrayed.
In Indian neo-realism, the camera, like gentle, delicate and slow brushstrokes, gradually outlines a picture of all living beings in Indian society. After reading it, you will feel sighing. Such a story can travel through time and hit people's hearts. It seems that Lord Shiva has never favored Apu. His relatives and lovers died one after another, making him completely despairing of life. He did not even have the courage to face death. Even the novel he had been working for was thrown into the valley. inside. However, life continues, and hope is rekindled by the five-year-old son he has never met. This one is about life and love in adulthood. Personally, I feel it is the most enjoyable part of the trilogy. I have more feelings after watching it than the previous two parts. The last scene is also quite touching.