Nazarin and Apur Sanser

Luis Buñuel's powerful Nazarin asks the question of whether there's a place in this world for a man who practices Christianity in its purest form. The title character, a Priest, is admirable in his steadfast faith, but he can also maddening in his strict adherence to it -- he gives when he has nothing, trusts those he shouldn't and is ultimately accused and abandoned by the very people and Church he serves. Nazarin is one of the director's most straightforward, and it knocked my socks off. The ending -while ambiguous- was memorable and stuck with me for days (was it supposed to symbolize a restoration of faith, or was it expressing the pointlessness of it all? After all, what good does a pineapple do a condemned man?) Trivia: Guillermo del Toro named this his favorite Buñuel film.

The 3rd and final chapter in Satyajit Ray's "Apu Trilogy", Apur Sansar (also known as The World of Apu). Steeped in neorealism, the trilogy does hit a few dreamy dramatic beats but does so without losing its verisimilitude. Apur Sansar shows us our protagonist (Soumitra Chatterjee) as a struggling young man, who suddenly finds himself with a bride (Sharmila Tagore). Inexperienced, and certain he's made a mistake, Ray quickly clues us in that this couple were meant to be together. And their love story, told in montage, is heartwarming, ah, but if you've seen the previous picture's, you know this will be short lived. Because the Apu series is centered around death and grief. Seeing our lead character fall to pieces is gut-wrenching. However, life is also full of beginnings. and in this feature's closing scenes, we are given one that full of hope and smiles.

With Sansar, Ray has become even more accomplished on cinematic levels. This 3rd feature is complex, impressively structured. And all 3 are incredible looking pictures, rife with imagery and music (by Ravi Shankar), settings and scene transitions and characters that burn into your mind and linger.

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