THE CLOUD-CAPPED STAR (Ghatak, 1960)
Criterion Collection, Blu-ray, Release Date Sep 10, 2019
Review by Christopher S. Long
In “The Cloud-Capped Star” (1960),
adapted from a novel by Shaktipada Rajguru, writer/director Ritwik
Ghatak displays a fondness for off-center compositions. One shot in
particular obsesses me even though it marks only a minor beat in the
story. Neeta (Supriya Choudhury), the hard-working daughter of a
Bengali refugee family now living in Kolkata, sits near the right of
the frame, situated at a slight diagonal. Her face half-covered in
shadow, she turns slowly to the camera and flashes a radiant smile,
the serene smile Neeta wears as a mask as her sufferings mount.
Choudhury supplies the magnetic smile, but the delicate and eccentric
staging turns it into a magical movie moment, one of many that makes
this film so powerful and transforms Neeta into one of the most
unforgettable heroines in any melodrama.
Early images in the film link Neeta
directly to nature - a flowing river dappled by sunlight, a
magnificently flowering tree that stretches to the heavens - all
emphasizing her potential to flourish. She's a bright university
student who also tutors on the side, a gig that makes her virtually
the sole breadwinner for her family. It's a big burden to take on at
a young age, but Neeta is a pure soul always ready to do the right
thing. As her brother Shankar (Anil Chatterjee) delights in telling
her, this is her first mistake, and quite likely a fatal one.
Everyone exploits her goodness and
forbearance. Shankar devotes all his time to studying to become a
singer, and knows he can do so because Neeta will shoulder the
financial load. Neeta's boyfriend Sanat (Niranjan Ray) can be a
full-time student because he can bum lunch money off his best gal.
Mother (Gita Dey) sees no reason to marry off her oldest daughter
because then who would keep the household running? Father (Bijon
Bhattacharya), a literature professor whose best days are well behind
him, seems the most sympathetic figure, a bit detached but generally
well-meaning, but looks can be deceiving.
As father becomes an invalid and
another brother moves away, the family becomes ever more dependent on
Neeta, and she bears it all with that quiet, enduring smile. But the
smile takes more effort to maintain with each cruel turn of fate,
sags more at the corners of the mouth with each new responsibility
crushing her to the unforgiving ground.
Melodrama literally means “music
drama” and Neeta's barely-suppressed sorrow explodes in one of
several extraordinary musical sequence in the film. She asks Shankar
to teach her a song by Rabindranath Tagore, the renowned Bengali
artist and polymath. Brother and sister sing it together slowly and
mournfully, and when it ends, Neeta collapses, finally ready to weep
for herself.
She has to cry for herself because
nobody else will. Not her family, not the sun-dappled river, not that
magnificently flowering tree that stretches to the heavens. And once
she starts coughing, well, this is a melodrama and you can guess
where it's heading.
It's all so damn overwhelming, but Ghatak really
twists the knife in the closing scenes when we visit Neeta one last
time. Dying and abandoned, she once again sits at the right of the
frame, now with a vast hilly landscape stretching out to infinity
behind her, a landscape that doesn't listen as she shouts out “I
really did want to live!” Jumping to the center of the frame now,
she begs, “Tell me just once that I will live!”
I can't go on. Honestly. I watched this
movie a week ago, and it's still difficult to talk about. Choudhury
is amazing. The soundtrack (music as well as effects) is amazing. The
photography by cinematographer Dinen Gupta and his crew is amazing. I
need a little more time to process it, but “The Cloud-Capped Star”
may well be the greatest melodrama I've ever seen.
Video:
The film is presented in its original
1.37:1 aspect ratio. The Criterion booklet notes that “this new 2K
digital restoration” used the 35 mm original camera negative
preserved at the National Film Archive of India in Pune and also a 35
mm print from the Library of Congress “for sections of the film
where the original camera negative was damaged or incomplete.”
With multiple elements used, the image
quality does vary a bit but not in a pronounced fashion – a few
shots perhaps don't look quite as sharp, but in general this looks
good overall. The black-and-white contrast is strong overall, though
a few scenes look a bit washed-out. Also in a few scenes white
subtitles over white portions of the image can be a bit tough to
read.
Audio:
The linear PCM mono track shows more
wear than the image does with a few moments where volume drops off
and some extraneous noise can be heard on the soundtrack. The music
can also be a bit tinny in a few scenes, but overall the audio is
solid, surely as much as can be expected from the source. Optional
English subtitles support the Bengali dialogue.
Extras:
Criterion has only included a few
modest supplements with this Blu-ray release.
We get a lengthy and substantive
conversation between filmmakers Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Kumar Shahani.
Both were students of Ghatak's at the Film and Television Institute
of India at Pune, and they bring both personal knowledge of and a
sincere admiration for Ghatak to this discussion, which covers a wide
array of topics relevant both to the film and to Ghatak's career.
The only other extra is a Stills
Gallery, which presents photos of Ghatak that were included in the
book “Life After Ritwik Ghatak” cowritten by Surama Ghatak, the
director's wife, and the director's grandniece, Nabarupa
Bhattacharjee.
The slim fold-out insert booklet
features an essay by film scholar Ira Bhaskar.
Final Thoughts:
I first read about “The Cloud-Capped
Star” about 15 year ago, most likely from Jonathan Rosenbaum. Since
then it's been at the very top of my list of Currently Unavailable
Films I Desperately Want To See. It easily exceeded my lofty
expectations. Criterion has made this masterpiece by Ritwik Ghatak
available in the North American region for the first time (as far as
I know) and even if it's a bit sparse on supplements, that makes this
one of the must-have Blu-rays of the year.
Very powerful movie where you feel the pain and desperation of the exploited girl...Real life emotions on full display here with a spiritualality ladened through out...The music is mystic...
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