The Home and the World

So far I've been mostly watching the older Satyajit Ray films, so I was mildly hopeful his most recent work might suit me better (even though Agantuk was also a complete misfire for me). The Home and the World didn't do much for me though. It's an extremely static film, and apart from some notable color work in certain scenes, I didn't find anything of interest.

Thanks to the liberal views of her husband, Bimala enjoys a more open-minded education. Unlike her peers, she is allowed to venture outside the house and learn about the world. She gets interested in the views of one of her husband's friends, who rallies against the Brits. But the more she learns, the more difficult it becomes to stick to simple, clear-cut truths.

Most of the film is set indoors, statically registering conversations between the leads. If you like a bit of philosophizing mixed in with progressive themes and a dash of history then this might be for you, but rather rigid performances, slow pacing, and dull camera work made it a real chore for me. I don't think Ray's for me.