Though
not one of the great Satyajit Ray’s better known films today, Abhijan – (The Expedition in Bengali)
– still comes from the finest period of his career; his first decade, roughly
1955 to 1965, and as such it is still reserved and humble in tone and devoid of
any affectations or irony common to contemporary European films that came into
Ray’s work in the mid-60s and 70s. That’s
not to say that Abhijan is quaint at
all; it is quite harsh and even harrowing at times, as its modest style sets
the stage for an existential debate on human morality. Soumitra Chatterjee plays Narsingh, a member
of the once great “warrior class” who now drives a taxi. Embittered by a recent divorce, Narsingh
decides to move to the rural country and start his own taxi business there
where people are less accustomed to such things. Divisions by class, religion and ethics are immediately
striking in his new, poverty-stricken surroundings. Crime beckons as business suffers, and
Narsingh’s weak attempts to trust people again, especially women, are frustrated
by cultural misunderstandings. Everything
builds to a moment when Narsingh will have to make his own choice about the kind
of man he wants to be and stop being blown about by circumstance. As in all of Ray’s greatest films, Abhijan demonstrates the power of cinema
as, in Roger Ebert’s words, “a machine that generates empathy.” The more foreign, arcane and unfamiliar the
situation, the more unlikely it seems we may relate to it, but Ray’s gift is
his ability to illuminate emotions and conflicts that float above all cultural
boundaries and are simply human, and that’s what makes Ray’s films so special
and rewarding.
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