Pather Panchali (1955)

India, 122m, B&W
Director: Satyajit Ray: Cast: Subir Banerjee, Kanu Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Uma Dasgupta, Chunibala Devi

Pather Panchali is based on a Bengali novel of the same name, and is the first of three films in the Apu Trilogy. It is a sad but beautifully-filmed dramatic tale of an impoverished rural family who attempt to live their lives in their ancestral village, despite being outcasts because of their poor economic and social standing. Filmed on a tiny budget, apparently in the order of $3,000 US dollars and utilizing a largely amateur and largely inexperienced cast and crew, the story, acting and cinematography are first-rate, as is the soundtrack by Ravi Shankar (Klaus Ming October 2009).