For some reason, I kept looking at this movie like it said, "Panther Panchali". That seemed to make sense, seeing as how panthers are in India. I watched these movies out of order, like I tend to do. It doesn't really matter, because this was the first in the entire series. It is of course a great movie. It can be hard for me to follow movies with subtitles. It's even harder when there's no action. This is the problem that many movies have. Since countries around the world speak different languages, we're forced to have dumber films become more popular worldwide. I'm looking at you, Transformers. The best part of this movie is probably the down to earth nature. Everything is as realistic as it can be and I just love looking at cats.The basic plot is that Apu's father goes off to try to make money. We get a ton of little things going on. The aunt dies, his sister is accused of stealing beads, and many others. As a slice of life story, you can expect a lot of little things to go on. It seems like we rarely see depictions of poor families. It's from a different culture, but we can still relate and feel sorry for everybody. ****

Rating it 10/10, or rating scale is useless to tell how great this work is!Overwhelming. Eloquent. Deep. People say this movie as a Indian version of Bicycle Thieves. But I would say this is more than that, very different and captures the emotions in the extremities of life, everything feels so real that one could imagine about (something similar as in Premchand's Godaan novel). This is the first movie of Satyajit Ray I have watched yet, and I must watch all of his lifelong work. And this feeling indulges my mind to read Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's original novel.Superb acting by every character, so strong, so real! Still camera, use of natural lights and shadows, makes you think how intelligent was the mind behind it. Sensitive story plot, and attention to every minute detail is phenomenal.This movie is a remarkable and classic story which tells both how beautiful and worst is life in very bad and in extremely bad situations, and flows in different ages as time passes.I can watch it for tens of times if I could make time for it!As a note, Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon Movie is not so different, but Pather Panchali feels at home and heart touching.A recommended one for classical movie lovers.

For a black-and-white movie released 60 years ago, Pather Panchali was fairly engaging because it managed to keep me glued to the screen for two hours.However, it is not a complete story; it's more like the beginning of one. That could be because it's the first in a trilogy, but I feel that despite that, it would have been better for it to have followed at least roughly the traditional structure of beginning-middle-and- end, even if it was meant to be an adaptation of only the first part of the novel Pather Panchali.I didn't give it a rating of less than 7 stars because the focus and message of the movie were executed pretty well. The focus was upon childhood spent in poverty in a developing country, the message being that childhood is universal.In any case, Pather Panchali surely helped me achieve my initial purpose of, being from India, understanding Indian cultures different from my own, in this case the culture of Hindu Bengal.A note about the subtitles: English subtitles are great, but if you're like me and speak an Indian language that isn't Bengali, try finding subtitles in them instead of in English. I found Hindu subtitles online and they were much more accurate and culturally- appropriate than English ones, and using them challenged and consequently improved my ability to read Hindi.

Pather Panchali (1955, Satyajit Ray​), a study of childhood​, is one of the greatest films of all time. Widely regarded as India's best movie, it is a major cultural landmark. It made an instant superstar out of Satyajit Ray. Despite the frequency of scenes depicting mundane life for a family of four peasants in India, "Pather Panchali" really packs an emotional punch.It is based on Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel. Apu (Subir Banerjee), a young boy, is the protagonist. In one of his earliest scenes, we wonder if he will wake up to face the day. Apu has a naughty older sister Durga (Uma Das Gupta). Durga's habitual lying and stealing causes conflicts with the neighbors. Sarbojaya Ray (Karuna Bannerjee), mother of Apu and Dirga, is frustrated with her daughter's ways but must defend her from accusation. The patriarch, Harihar Ray (Kanu Bannerjee) is emotionally distant from the troubles of the other three family members. He's a priest earning meager wages during the work day. At night he cheerfully writes poetry, plays and stories with the optimism his artistry can wipe out his family's debt. Indir Thakrun (Chunibala Devi) is the very old (80) aunt who also annoys the matriarch. The needy old woman is the picture of misery. (While Chunibala Devi died before the film was released, Ray had visited her and showed her an early version.)"Pather Panchali" was controversial at the time for its unflinching depiction of villagers experiencing bone-crushing poverty. Destitution is weighing everyone down, like gravity. There are scenes where characters eat rice with their fingers from a bowl on the floor and it feels like you have been transported to rural India. Yet the peasants are mostly stoic, and inspiring for how they generally cope with their burdens.Two performances really strike a chord. Karuna Bannerjee as the beleaguered, fatigued mother trying to discipline as well as hold her family together is amazing to watch. When she mentions during one moment of despair that she used to have dreams of a better life it really pulls heartstrings. Uma Das Gupta as Apu's naughty sister Dirga is also very memorable. The mother and daughter roles are both exquisitely realized. The 34-year-old novice director (Satyajit Ray) started his career at a very elite level.Ray begins the film with many scenes that are dark, even though the family seems to be prospering. When Fate has dealt the family a bad hand, the scenes are well lit and occasionally, in deep focus. The lighting pattern is counter to how many filmmakers would have approached the material. In addition, the conclusion is foreshadowed. Notice how often one character seems to occasionally stumble or falter. Regarding the music, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar​'s score adds authenticity and depth to the narrative. Shankar's music is very highly regarded among film critics. It also inspired George Harrison about a decade later.For those who see "Pather Panchali" on the big screen, expect to emerge from the theater a changed and wiser person. Satyajit Ray demonstrates the world is available to a young artist who hasn't given his soul to the dark side.