Chosen by Collective member Matt Sedillo, Pather Panchali [Song of the Little Road] (1955) was directed by Satyajit Ray. Pather Panchali follows the lives of the members of the Ray family as they struggle with poverty in Bengal. A father with dreams frequently leaves in search of work, leaving his wife and children to deal with petty neighbors, a mischievous Auntie, and an inhospitable environment. 

Matt explains how Pather Panchali differentiates itself from other films about families in poverty by focusing more on the women than on the men, drawing a unique focus on them and the concerns they face. Jeanne talks about how the specificity of Indian culture, in everything from makeup, to dowries, to religious icons, and the unique class system, informs the events of the film. David talks about how the film presents industrialization in subtle and insidious ways, from trains to sweets, capturing not only its allure, but the negative impacts it has on the family and the rural community. 

Join us next week as we discuss Jeanne's pick of the week: Sullivan's Travels (1941) directed by Preston Sturges.