Homenagens

Amidst an infinity of films, scenes and frames fighting for the audience’s attention, the most viewed image at Mostra represents something so common, and yet extraordinary: a house. In it, we see a woman combing a girl’s hair. In the background, a man and a boy sit by the door. 

The simplicity of the portrayed situation, of the space and lines, sums up the powers of Satyajit Ray’s (1921-1992) art. The drawing, chosen as poster art for the 48th Mostra, belongs to a storyboard created by the Indian filmmaker in preparation for his first feature film, “Song of the Little Road”. The tableau depicts the daily life of a family, delineating two universes: the inside and the outside; home and the world. 70 years on, contemporary cinema continues to reflect the complex, sometimes conflicting relations between the private and public spheres. 

In this retrospective, which showcases seven titles from the first and most decisive decade of Ray’s filmography, these reflections are present, as well as a delicate x-ray of transformations and tensions within Indian society. 

The Apu trilogy, comprising “Song of the Little Road” (“Pather Panchali”, 1955), “The Unvanquished” (“Aparajito”, 1956) and “The World of Apu” (“Apur Sansar”, 1959), traces both Indian social conditions and individual values. As in coming-of-age novels, Apu’s trajectory from childhood to adulthood also comments on the collective history of his time. 

In the interval between “The Big City” (1963) and “The Hero” (1966), selected films show Ray’s ethnographic eye as well as his philosophical and political vision, refined in translating the risks of modernity and burdens of tradition. Within this window are “The Lonely Wife” (“Charulata”, 1964), an absolute masterpiece about the female condition, and “The Coward” (1965), a portrait of behavioral changes in his country. 

At a decisive time in the history of cinema, when many filmmakers strived to produce more than mere commercial pieces, the emergence of names outside the Europe-Hollywood axis was favored. 

Ray’s films helped decentralize the cinephile gaze, broadening the audience’s sensibilities and introducing new ways of seeing. In short, he was one of the founding fathers of what would later be called “peripheral cinema” and “world cinema”. At the time, Ray’s work acted as a north star in the construction of third cinemas around the world. 

Although he was first deemed a neorealist by critics eager to label his work, Ray’s realism followed a different path. He learned about cinema by watching films. This way, he absorbed both Hollywood’s narrative efficiency (especially in films by John Ford and John Huston) and Europe’s freedom to combine authenticity and personality (as in the films of Jean Renoir). 
Rather than exclusively European influences, it may be more fruitful to link Ray to an elusive combination of realism and local traditions, as is the case with his compatriots Guru Dutt and Ritwik Ghatak, and representatives of the Parallel Cinema movement. Halfway across the world, for filmmakers such as Nelson Pereira dos Santos, assimilating realism served as shelter against the cultural hegemony of world powers. A decade later, in Iran, it fostered a creative effervescence that served as nourishment for many filmmakers, among which is Abbas Kiarostami. 

Ray’s work, however, was based on more than cinephilia: in its foundation are other artistic languages rooted in local culture. He was already an experienced illustrator, writer and composer before adding “filmmaker” to his list of talents. He illustrated an edition of the novel “Pather Panchali”, by Indian writer Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, which served as the basis for his first feature film. Later, he would join that selected group of directors who composed music for his own films, with the likes of Charles Chaplin and John Carpenter. 

Another equally important influence lies in his Bengali origins. Born and raised in Calcutta, Ray was a late heir of what came to be known as the Bengal Renaissance. With its origins in the late 18th century, this social, intellectual and cultural movement brought together anti-colonialists and progressive minds who aimed to emancipate the nation and its individuals, both men and women. 

Ray’s grandfather and father had been prominent members of this movement, which has Rabindranath Tagore as one of its best-known figures in the West. With them, Ray shared not only his ideals, but his excellence in multiple creative languages. 

In a brilliant article, French critic Michel Ciment emphasizes that, in Ray’s work, the legacy of the Bengal Renaissance spirit is combined to “the struggles of Nehru and Gandhi, which accompanied his adolescence and early adulthood (he was 20 years old at the time of India’s independence). Although he admits to having had little political awareness in his youth, his work demonstrates, from the beginning, a sharp understanding of relations between individuals and society.” 

All films curated by Mostra for the Satyajit Ray retrospective provide insight into these material and spiritual realities of the India where he lived and worked, and are among the most definitive titles in the history of cinema.