Amazon.com essential video: This 1961 collection contains two stories based on the short stories "The Postman" and "Sampati," both written by the renowned Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore.
"The Postman" is a charming and poignant look at the life of a poet turned bureaucrat. Nandalal (Anil Chatterjee) leaves his family in Calcutta to work as a postmaster in the smallest of Bengali villages. There he teaches his young servant girl, Ratan (Chandana Banerjee), to read, write, and keep herself clean. When he gets malaria, Ratan nurses him back to health. Nandalal eventually decides that the country life is not for him and leaves his post. Ratan's reaction to his departure is one of the most startlingly honest moments in filmmaking.
"The Conclusion" is an equally charming but more complex story. Amulya (Soumitra Chatterjee, star of another Ray masterpiece, Charulata) returns to his village after finishing college in Calcutta. His calculating mother wants to arrange his marriage, but Amulya thinks the girl she has chosen for him is totally unsuitable. He prefers the wild, uninhibited Mrinmoyee (Aparna Das Gupta), whose family has been devastated by a recent flood. Amulya and Mrinmoyee do marry, but their wedding night is a disaster and Amulya leaves in disgrace, vowing not to return until Mrinmoyee asks him to, as a wife should ask her husband. This is a highly unusual and well-drawn story. Look for original footage that Ray later reused as part of the title character's daydream in Charulata. --Luanne Brown
This is actually two separate films, each about a young female - one a young girl, the other a young woman who acts as if she were still a girl. (Actually, a third installment was planned, but it never materialized.) The first part, only about 30 minutes long, is simplicity itself: a man from Calcutta is assigned a position as postmaster in a small rural village. There his assistant is a young girl; they come to rely on each other. But after an attack of malaria, he decides to go to another post, and the girl is heartbroken.
The second part is about a stubborn young man who decides to marry a woman who is still only a child mentally (she likes to still play with the other children). After a disastrous wedding night, he decides to go back to the city. Months go by over which the woman decides to accept her marriage, and the man returns. Satyajit Ray wrote and directed these simple yet consumately artful films; they tell universal truths with great beauty and sincerity: every moment seems exactly right.
beautiful and unusual.... When Satyajit Ray's films came to Seattle as part of a weekly festival back in 1995, I had never heard of him before. I was just thirteen and a real film buff. I think "Two Daughters" was the first film I saw by the master filmmaker. This particular film is like poetry. I say this because it was filmed, directed and acted in such a thoughtful and sensitive way. There is so much detail packed into every frame. I could almost smell the streets and touch the people as I watched them emerge onto the screen.
"Two Daughters" is actually two films that examine the lives of two very diverse, beautiful and complex young women.
The first part, "The Postman," examines the relationship between a postman who arrives in a community (Nandalal played by Anil Chaterjee) and a young girl who falls in love with him and ends up nursing him back to health during an outbreak of malaria (Ratan played by Chandana Banerjee). This is touching and definitely a universal relationship many can relate to, as well being poignant and heartbreaking during the final moments of the story.
The second part, "The Conclusion," is about a young man returning home from college (Amulya played by Soumitra Chatterjee) whose domineering mother wants him to settled down with a good Indian girl. His mother's choice in a suitable bride for her son is not what he has in mind. In fact, he would rather marry the town tomboy and troublemaker (Mrinmoyee played by Aparna Das Gupta). Their scenes together are amusing and also touching.
These are important films to see for anyone who is first becoming acquainted with the brilliant talent and work of Satyajit Ray. Also, anyone who wants to take a look at a delicate and exquisite style of filmmaking different from the loud, bombastic movie style of "typical" American storylines.
The Postman - A Cross-Cultral Metaphor Ray's version of The Postman is one of my all-time favorite films. As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in India, I can say that this film catches the flavor of that experience completely. The postmaster from Calcutta could be from America -- or from Mars for that matter - the village life is so strange to him. As a sort of accidental by-product of being there, he absolutely changes the life of his young servant girl by teaching her how to read. She, as a sort of accidental by-product of serving him, saves his life. The ending is heartbreaking, but it's not at all clear whether the Postmaster himself - headed for home - feels the emotion.
A rare jewel an extraordinary,touching film of great beauty and depth.A profound view of life in rural India that strikes home.
touching, beautiful and moving rendition The movie is 2 stories in one. The first one (The Postmaster) was moving. One feels for the little maid trapped in the servitude of postmasters in a small village in Bengal. Her sweet relationship with the Postmaster is brought to an abrupt end at the close of the first story. The second story is a remarkable portrayal of a tomboy of a village girl and her suitor - a relatively introvert, academically inclined man. A vivid depiction of how opposites attract, the obvious initial problems that result from it, then finally their separation and eventual unification. In one scene Ray shows the transformation of a the crying tomboy bride (since her brand new husband leaves her) into a mature woman - was a touch of class from this master craftsman. Definitely for those who love movies that leave a lasting impact.
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