Film Review
Agantuk (a.k.a.
The Stranger) was the last film to
be made by the legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, a modest but
compelling work that easily ranks alongside his previous
masterpieces. It is a film that provides a fitting conclusion to
Ray's oeuvre, as it picks up and develops many of the themes that Ray
touched on in earlier films, most notably the loss of cultural identity
in an increasingly materialistic world. Richly Chekhovian in both
its minimalist style and piercing perception of human nature,
Agantuk is a remarkably astute
morality tale that invites us to contemplate what civilisation really
is - is a developed nation that permits mass homelessness and has the
capability to obliterate others at the touch of a button more civilised
than one whose people still live in mud huts?
A Franco-Indian production,
Agantuk
was partly financed by various French film companies including Canal+
and Gérard Depardieu's company DD Productions. Depardieu's
involvement seems fitting as the film's central plot idea (a stranger
returning to his home after many years, unable to convince others of
his identity) bears more than a passing resemblance to that of
Le Retour de Martin Guerre
(1982), a film in which the iconic French actor previously
starred. The French connection in this last film serves to
complete the circle, since Ray first learned his art by watching Jean
Renoir as he filmed
The River (1951). Renoir
was the European filmmaker who had most influence on Ray, something
that is particularly evident in his early films
Pather Panchali (1955) and
Aparajito
(1956).
As ever, Ray's casting choices are impeccable and more than do justice
to his insightful screenplay. Mamata Shankar and Dipankar Dey
effectively convey the conflict of the couple who cannot decide what to
make of the stranger - throughout the film you feel that they
instinctively want to trust him, but their bourgeois materialism
prevents them from doing so. Their good fortune has not made them
generous to others; it has merely made them more determined to hold
onto the riches that Providence has cast at their feet. Utpal Dutt's
Manomohan (a.k.a. Nemo, or the Man With No Name) appears to be the
exact opposite of the self-interested Boses, a man who has no roots,
few possessions, and who uses money only so that he can travel and
widen his understanding of humanity. No wonder the Boses are
suspicious of him: he represents all that is alien to them, even
dismissing the hideous caste system on which Indian society is solidly based.
Dutt's mesmeric performance lends Manomohan a mystique and authority
that makes him the moral focus of the film, against which the petty
materialistic concerns of the Boses are exposed and ruthlessly
dissected. It is easy to see why Manomohan manages to enchant the children he
encounters; they have yet to have their minds closed off and soiled by
greed and self-interest. They see him for what he is, a wise old
man with an enquiring mind and a lust for learning, not material
possessions. Unable to see things through a child's eyes, blinded
to true goodness by their middleclass meannness, the Bose couple can
only question Manomohan's motives and sincerity. The moment of
revelation comes too late for them - having subjected Manomohan to a
series of interrogations worthy of the Gestapo, they discover the truth
only after the stranger has left them for good, leaving them with the
soundest proof of his integrity.
Through the conflict between the Boses and their mysterious visitor,
Satyajit Ray renders an effective modern parable on the destructive
influence of materialism, showing how wealth diminishes not only our
moral faculties but also our ability to perceive true goodness when we
encounter it. Wealth does not make us better, neither as a
society nor as individuals; it merely accentuates the rifts that divide
us and makes us meaner, both in spirit and in deed. In his final
film, Ray questions the civilising effect of western-style materialism
and seems to conclude that the way forward lies not with science and
technology, but with a greater awareness of our cultural past. By
understanding where we come from, we may have a better chance to
discover who we really are and how we may guide humanity towards a better,
nobler future.
© James Travers 2013
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Satyajit Ray film:
Pather Panchali (1955)
Film Synopsis
Anila Bose lives in Calcutta with her husband Sudhindra and their young
son Satyaki. The family is comfortably off and live in a grand
house which they have inherited. One day, Anila receives a letter
that purports to come from her estranged uncle Manomohan Mitra, who
left India 35 years ago and has spent most of his life travelling the
world. Manomohan asks that he may be allowed to spend a few days
with his niece and her family before he resumes his travels.
Sudhindra is immediately suspicious and warns his wife that the letter
writer may be an impostor who intends to rob them. When Manomohan
turns up a few days later, Anila treats him courteously but begins to
share her husband's doubts. The only person who believes the
stranger is who he claims to be is Anila's son, who takes an instant
liking to him. Then Anila remembers her grandfather's will
and becomes convinced that the stranger is after her uncle's
inheritance...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.