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Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
- Class Relations
- Feminism and Women’s Issues
- Indian Films
- Love Triangle
Review:
Satyajit Ray’s ninth feature film (his first in color) was this contemplative, conversation-filled drama about love and marriage, set in the foothills of the Himalayas (specifically the hill station of Darjeeling). The synopsis above covers the basics of what we see and hear from the three couples (or would-be couples) — aging Biswas and Banerjee:
… unhappily married Gupta and Chatterjee:
… and the undecided future-coupling of either Roy and Sanyal:
… or Roy and Mukherjee.
Not much else is available to read about this film, but according to Wikipedia:
In 1962, Ray directed Kanchenjungha. Based on his first original screenplay, it was also his first colour film. It tells the story of an upper-class family spending an afternoon in Darjeeling, a picturesque hill town in West Bengal. They try to arrange the engagement of their youngest daughter to a highly paid engineer educated in London.
Ray had first conceived shooting the film in a large mansion, but later decided to film it in the famous town. He used many shades of light and mist to reflect the tension in the drama. Ray noted that while his script allowed shooting to be possible under any lighting conditions, a commercial film crew in Darjeeling failed to shoot a single scene, as they only wanted to do so in sunshine.
As Ray’s first venture into original screenwriting rather than adapting someone else’s work, it will certainly be of interest to fans of the director — and it remains a thoughtful treatise on gender norms and marital challenges in mid-century India. But it’s not must-see for all film fanatics.
Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:
- Good use of locale shooting to highlight interpersonal tensions and possibilities
Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look if you’re a fan of Ray’s work.
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