For a time in the early 80s, Rabindranath Tagore was one of my favourite authors. I read what was in print, and probably borrowed from the university library, too. Then he went out of my life, until the Criterion Channel recently came on line. I cannot begin to tell readers of this blog how wonderful it is to have this streaming service. It's something I've waited for all my life, and dreamt about. And I actually have time now to watch the films. Our film festival this weekend featured three works by Ray. Two of them were based on stories by Tagore, while the third was a biography/tribute to the man.
Three Daughters, which runs for just over 2 1/2 hours, features three separate films based on short stories by Tagore. Charulata is based on a novel, called The Broken Nest. The English film title was The Lonely Wife. I first encountered Ray's films many years ago at DFT (Detroit Film Theatre), specifically the Apu Trilogy, which remain three of my favourite films of all time. I have seen those twice. The first film we watched this weekend has three stories: The Postmaster, The Lost Jewels, and The Conclusion, which I would have called Crazy Girl.
The Postmaster is almost too brilliant for words. The print was not very good, but the subtitles were new. A man from the city takes a job as postmaster in a Bengali jungle village. Needless to say, he is very uncomfortable in his surroundings and doesn't remain very long. Helping him get by (and saving his life) is a little orphan girl. Ratan is a priceless jewel, but in India she is just another waif, doomed to a life of servitude and loneliness. He teaches her to read and write a bit, then asks the newest postmaster, who is replacing him, to continue her lessons. One can only hope.
Three Daughters, a film by Satyavit Ray.
The second short film of the trilogy is a standard ghost story, and is the least effective of the trio. A woman, left alone all day by her husband in a giant house, goes mad, becoming obsessed with her jewellery.
Crazy Girl (my title) is the final short film, and focuses on a young teenage girl who loves to play outside, climb trees, play on a swing, and keep a pet chipmunk. When a young man returns to the village from school in the city and chooses to marry her, she is not very responsive to him. She wishes to remain the way she is, rather than grow up and submit to marriage. All three films focus on the plight of Indian women, and how they have so little say in their life choices. I would expect that this last film would have been scandalous at the time (1961), as the young man chooses not to beat the girl into submission, as requested by his mother and their neighbours. Instead, he goes away and gives her time to grow up. Which she does, after much soul searching. She manages one final tree climb before agreeing to be his life companion. This film and the first one are so amazing to watch as to be almost indescribable. We are totally immersed in Bengali village life, and see things, and come to understand things, that no tourist or outsider could ever hope to experience.
The next feature film we watched was Charulata. From 1964 and running just under two hours, we are again immersed in Bengali life, this time in the impressive home of a rich business man. He runs a political newspaper, and has little, if any, time to spare for his beautiful and very intelligent, sensitive wife. The house is dripping with bric-a-brac, and to the husband, his wife is a lovely accent to the home, like the beautiful furnishings. When a young cousin of the businessman comes to stay, the woman's life begins to change. Like her, he reads romantic literature and poetry, and he manages to coax her into writing, too. She gradually falls in love with him. An excellent portrayal of being female in Bengal in the late 19th century.
This film also had 4 Criterion extras, amounting to another hour of watching. Great stuff, not accessible anywhere else.
The final film of our weekend festival was called Rabindranth Tagore, Ray's tribute to this great Indian intellectual and writer. Born in 1861, he died in 1941. The film gives not only a good summary of Tagore's life and accomplishments, but gives an honest look at what the British were doing in Bengal and elsewhere. It was brutal. And despite promises of giving allowing more Indian representation after WW1, no such freedoms were forthcoming. World events would eventually drown out the voice of one of the world's sanest, most humanistic men who ever lived.
We are off to Cincinnati on Wednesday, and will return Friday. I will blog about the city visit and the film festival when we return, and will give a quick summary of my August reading. I also need to write the September observing article for our astronomy club newsletter.
In other news, I have shut down the music studio for this year. I still have a few students, but none of them are truly committed to full time study. Should a promising student come along, I might reconsider opening again, but for now it is retirement, full and complete. Amen.
Mapman Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment