One doesn't expect anything other than excellence from the legendary Ray's work and 'Ghare Baire' (Home and the World) follows the same path. 'Based on the Nobel prize winner, Ranbindronath Tagore's novel, it focuses on the relationship of a woman with her husband and his best friend. Almost 10 years into her marriage, she is happy with her husband but craves for something more. Unlike many women of the time, her husband gives her complete freedom allowing her to live her life the way she wills. He himself is impressed by the British lifestyle and his his wife learn English. He's also very connected to his own Bengali route. Then enters his revolutionary and stubborn friend who is obsessed of having the country get rid of everything English. The husband and his friend have contradictory viewpoints. Yet, he welcomes his friend and never objects to his motivations, as long as he's within his limits. The wife is impressed and intrigued by his friend's political ambitions and is gradually drawn towards him (or he draws her towards him) until they embark in an affair and then the truth becomes more apparent...to everyone, but it's too late.
Ray really takes his time to tell us the story, to let us get to know the characters and clearly display the relationships between them and explain the political situation. He does one hell of a job doing it. He shows the development of the wife's 'relationship' with the friend as her marriage becomes weaker while her husband is hauntingly passive yet trying to understand both his wife and his friend as he is the one who truly loves her and he tries to carry out his social obligations towards his people. We see that the wife learns more about the political dilemmas in the outside world but only from the friend's point of view. Then, as one reviewer, has pointed we are drawn into a web of dilemma's between England and India, modernism and tradition, Hindu and Muslim, rich and poor, men and women, leadership and rabble-rousing, greed and sacrifice, means and ends and love and infatuation.
Master filmmaker that he is, Ray puts it all together in one of the most remarkable way that it does not deviate from the main plot. Ther performances are superb. Victor Bannerjee gives a very intense but subtle performance. In the end, one realizes that it is his character one feels most for. Contrastingly, though Soumitra Chatterjee is more vocal, he makes full use of his nonverbal language, hinting the character's deceitful intentions. Swatilekha Chatterjee plays a very difficult part with tremendous ease. She completely owns the role. Supporting cast are all very good. Ray also makes adequate use of the background score and the cinematography is wonderful. Watch for the camera angles and movement.
Truly a mind-blowing film and I always thought that there aren't enough words that can do justice to describe the excellence of Ray's films. I've only made an attempt and I'm still far behind. Just watch it to see what I mean. Only those who appreciate real cinema will understand.
