This film is a moody and evocative portrait of a physically and emotionally isolated man who is mourning the death of his only son, his wife, and his formerly lavish way of life. The distinguished Bengali actor Chhabi Biswas gives an outstanding performance as Huzar Biswambhar Roy, a once-happy and prosperous landowner who used to spend his evenings in the music room (or jalsaghar) of his magnificent palace. There he would sit on priceless carpets under magnificent chandeliers and admire himself in a large ornate mirror as he watched the best Bengali dancers and musicians perform. Huzur is reminded of this opulent past by a tendril of music emanating from the house of his annoying nouveau riche neighbor, Mahim Ganguly (Gangapanda Basu) who likes to throw his good fortune in Huzar's face. Ganguly hosts the kind of lavish parties Huzar used to host, while Huzar's music room sits as empty and cold as his wounded heart. Finally, unable to stop Ganguly's taunting, Huzar uses his last 500 rupees to reopen the jalsaghar for one more glorious performance. The loyal manager of his estate, Taraprasanna (Tulsi Lahiri) tries to stop him, but it's hopeless. This film, made in 1958, is an excellent example of Satyajit Ray's ability to evoke mood. The desolation of the crumbling palace is the perfect visual metaphor for Huzar's inner state. For fans of Ray's work, this is a must-see example. [+]

In this 1960 Satyajit Ray film, Kalikinkar Roy (Chhabi Biswas, who also appeared in Jalsaghar) has a revelation that his daughter-in-law, Doyamoyee (Sharmila Tagore), is the incarnation of the goddess Kali. When his son Umaprasad (Soumitra Chatterjee, The World of Apu) returns from university in Calcutta, he is appalled to find that his wife has been made a virtual prisoner of his father's obsession. Doyamoyee is decorated as a living goddess and forced to sit all day in the temple where people come to offer her prayers. When an impoverished man brings his only son to this reluctant goddess and he is cured, everyone believes that she has performed a miracle. Then her beloved nephew Khoka gets sick. Will another miracle happen? Or is simply believing not enough? Dark and brooding, this is another powerful human portrait by the Svengali of Bengali filmmaking. Ray exposes the underbelly of twisted human desire and the overwhelming compulsion to rob others of the right to control their own destiny. Based on the story Devi by Prabhart Kumar Mukherjee, the film is 93 minutes long and is shot in black and white. The music is by Ali Akbar Khan. -Luanne Brown.

This 1961 collection contains two stories based on the short stories "The Postman" and "Sampati," both written by the renowned Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore. "The Postman" is a charming and poignant look at the life of a poet turned bureaucrat. Nandalal (Anil Chatterjee) leaves his family in Calcutta to work as a postmaster in the smallest of Bengali villages. There he teaches his young servant girl, Ratan (Chandana Banerjee), to read, write, and keep herself clean. When he gets malaria, Ratan nurses him back to health. Nandalal eventually decides that the country life is not for him and leaves his post. Ratan's reaction to his departure is one of the most startlingly honest moments in filmmaking. "The Conclusion" is an equally charming but more complex story. Amulya (Soumitra Chatterjee, star of another Ray masterpiece, Charulata) returns to his village after finishing college in Calcutta. His calculating mother wants to arrange his marriage, but Amulya thinks the girl she has chosen for him is totally unsuitable. [+]