"Aparajito"/"Apur Sansar"/"The Living Corpse"

Okay, the next two films finish what's known as "The Apu Trilogy," directed by Satyajit Ray. I mentioned "Pather Panchali" in my previous post, and the next two are "Aparajito" and "Apur Sansar."

There are few films (or things) in this world that you can experience, and you just feel like a better person after watching them. These three films are the very definition of that. And yet, I can't point to any specific thing about them that makes them supremely special.

At their core, they are slice-of-life movies about Bengali life in the 1920s to 30s (I'm guessing that, based on the books the films are based on). Apu is the thread character of all three, and yet, he's not really a main character in the first film. The films concentrate on his immediate family and a few friends here and there. The third film goes into marriage and child-rearing. And really, without giving away too much, the plot turns could be looked at as a series of downers....but the overall effect of the films was almost magical. Sure, it could have something to do with the fact that it's a culture I don't know a whole lot about. But at the end of the third film, I just felt pure satisfaction. Cant' ask for much more than that.

Special kudos, beyond the writing and direction, must go to the actress who played Apu's mother. Her performances stood out. These did make me want to seek out more Ray stuff. And soon.

Moving just a bit to the northeast, we get to "The Living Corpse," which was made in Pakistan in 1967. Yep, Pakistan. Basically, what's been done here is take the 1958 "Dracula," from Hammer, and modify it to fit a Pakistani "entertainment." This means you get song and dance numbers, and even a car chase at the end. Yes, Dracula, or in this case, Professor Tabani, is auto-pursued by Dr. Aqil (Harker) towards the end. All in all, it's a pretty fun feature, especially after the first 30 minutes or so, which are pretty slow.

This makes my second Pakistani horror film, the first being "Hell's Ground" from the mid-2000s. I heartily recommend that one. This one....it's fun.....for the curious, mostly. Paki censors didn't want to put any stamp of approval on it, purely for its supernatural content, but they finally passed it with an "X." Funny. I'm glad we have this, though; it was thought lost for many years. Here's a dance number: