The Adversary

The Adversary (1971)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066237/]

The Gist:
Satyajit Ray is probably the only Indian director I know by name, a man more influenced by Italian Neorealism and French New Wave and the Swedish art movement (of which I really only know Bergman but I know there's more to it than that) and so on and who doesn't resemble even a little of what Indian cinema is currently known for (ie Bollywood). The first film I saw of Ray's was The World of Apu, which was a great movie experience for me. I don't think The Adversary is as compelling, particularly because through a lot of the film the protagonist feels too passive and because the surrealist imagery feels far to transparent and on the nose (especially when compared to late phase Fellini or Bergman). I do, however, think this is a beautiful film that grows into itself nicely, and whose closing moments truly reflect the work of the master. Particularly when I saw the ending minutes of the film, I knew that Ray had a perfect ending on his hands. That along with the character's emergence into action and the spark of a love interest really validated the film's weaker moments for me.