Aparajito

Satyajit Ray's 'Aparajito', the second instalment in his iconic 'Apu' trilogy, picks off where 'Apu' ended with his family having moved to Varanasi. It's a particular joy to see these characters again, as Ray had no intention of continuing Apu's story until the earlier film surpassed all expectations and became one of the first major hits in world cinema. 'Aparajito' brings Apu from childhood to college, from the muddy waters of the Ganges to Calcutta on scholarship. Where in the earlier film he and his sister Durga chased the sound of the train simply to see it, now Apu is a passenger, leaving childhood behind for the big city. It's not all easy sailing – in particular, his relationship with his mother grows more difficult as the years pass, and the film shows just how painful cutting the apron strings can be on both parent and child – and like everyone who's left where they've come from, the heavy surprise of isolation awaits. Ray films the story with such apparent love for and joy in his characters, that at the film's high points it feels ecstatic, at its low points truly heartbreaking.