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(Swatilekha Chatterjee), and a charismatic revolutionary (Soumitra Chatterjee). This graceful chamber piece was completed by Ray with his son’s help after the director suffered two massive heart attacks. Ray intended for this adaptation of a Rabindranath Tagore story to be his debut film 30 years earlier. Praising the film, Pauline Kael wrote, “When it comes to truthfulness about women’s lives this great filmmaker Ray shames the American and European directors of both sexes.” DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Satyajit Ray. WITH: Soumitra Chatterjee, Victor Banerjee, Swatilekha Chatterjee, Manoj Mitra. 1984. 140 min. Color. Bengali. 35mm. Print courtesy of the Packard Humanities Institute Collection at the Academy Film Archive.
Branches of the Tree (Shakha Proshakha)
Branches of the Tree (Shakha Proshakha) Sun, Apr 9 | 2pm | TMT
Satyajit Ray returns to the topic of family with his most direct portrait of generational friction in the somber Branches of the Tree . When a self-made industrialist and philanthropist has a heart attack, his sons rush to his bedside. While waiting out their father’s convalescence (or demise), the reunited siblings let old resentments simmer as new secrets emerge. Former Cahiers du Cinéma editor Jean-Michel Frodon praised the film, writing, “On Ray’s screen, everything moves and breathes, everything has nuance and depth.” DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Satyajit Ray. WITH: Soumitra Chatterjee, Ranjit Mallick, Dipankar Dey, Mamata Shankar. 1990. 121 min. Color. Bengali. 35mm. Print courtesy of the Packard Humanities Institute Collection at the Academy Film Archive.
An Enemy of the People (Ganashatru)
An Enemy of the People (Ganashatru) with Deliverance (Sadgati) Sat, Apr 8 | 7:30pm | TMT An Enemy of the People (Ganashatru)
The Stranger (Agantuk) Sat, Apr 15 | 7:30pm | TMT
In this contemporary adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play An Enemy of the People (En folkefiende) , Satyajit Ray offers a scathing commentary on the Indian social system and religious orthodoxies. Ray regular Soumitra Chatterjee stars as a doctor who traces a jaundice outbreak in a West Bengal tourist destination to the holy water at a popular temple. Yet his concerns for an epidemic are met with hostility and ostracization. Produced while Ray was ill, this biting drama was made at a time when Hindu nationalist sentiments were on the rise. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Satyajit Ray. WITH: Soumitra Chatterjee, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Mamata Shankar, Dhritiman Chatterjee. 1989. 100 min. Color. Bengali. 35mm. Print courtesy of the Packard Humanities Institute Collection at the Academy Film Archive. Deliverance (Sadgati) Made for India’s government-run national television service in Hindi and rarely screened in the United States, Deliverance is Ray’s angriest and starkest film. On a scorching day, a Brahmin orders an “untouchable” cobbler to cut trees in exchange for arranging a marriage. The tragic results set off a fateful chain reaction in the weather-beaten village. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Satyajit Ray. WITH: Om Puri, Smita Patil, Richa Mishra, Mohan Agashe. 1981. 52 min. Color. Hindi. 35mm. Print courtesy of the Packard Humanities Institute Collection at the Academy Film Archive.
Satyajit Ray’s final film once more explores the bonds and battles of family life. Announced only by a single letter, the arrival of the long-lost, globetrotting great-uncle of Anila after 35 years is a shock to all in her Calcutta home. Regaling Anila’s young son with tall tales from his world travels, the enigmatic grand uncle Manomohan (Utpal Dutt) strikes suspicion in everyone, not the least regarding his identity. (Scholars of Ray’s work have noted the anthropologist uncle’s measured approach to science and technology echo statements Ray himself made in interviews.) Ray’s film is based on his own short story originally written for the children’s magazine he edited, Sandesh . The year following the film’s release, Ray received an Honorary Award from the Academy. He passed away on April 23, 1992. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Satyajit Ray. WITH: Utpal Dutt, Dipankar Dey, Mamata Shankar. 1991. 120 min. Color. Bengali. 35mm. Print courtesy of the Packard Humanities Institute Collection at the Academy Film Archive.
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