197 - The Stranger, 1991, India. Dir. Satyajit Ray.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

197 - The Stranger, 1991, India.  Dir. Satyajit Ray.

The Stranger.

No, this is not an adaptation of the 1942 Albert Camus novel.

Nor is it a remake of the 1946 Orson Welles film noir drama.

And while we are listing what it is not, let us add that it has nothing to do with the 1977 Columbia studio album by Billy Joel or its titular song, produced by legendary producer Phil Ramone, the album that gave us the hit singles "Just the Way Your Are," "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," "Only the Good Die Young," and "She's Always a Woman," as well as the classics "Everybody Has a Dream," "Vienna," and my favorite, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant."  If only Billy Joel had not quit writing and recording new material. . . . Sigh.

But enough about other Strangers.  And other Lovers for that matter.

Let us discuss this Stranger.  The Stranger.  Also known as Agantuk.  The 1991 Bengali film written, produced, and directed by the legendary (that's two legends in one blog article) Satyajit Ray, based on his own short story "The Guest" ("Atithi").

Anila receives a letter.  She looks at it while her husband Sudhindra reads the paper.  He looks up. He is curious.  It could be from your side of the family.

It takes her awhile to read it.

"That's a massive missive."  Ha!  The translator who wrote the subtitles writes the way I do. Not "long letter."  But "massive missive."  Touche, translator.  Keep up the good work.

It is from her great uncle.  The one who left 35 years ago, in 1955, when Anila was two.

Or so he says.

The last anyone heard from him was 22 years ago, in 1968.  It is now 1990.  Anila has no memories of him.

Sudhindra is immediately suspicious.  They have items in the home worth one million rupees.  Surely he is coming to scam them.

They discuss what to do.  Telegram him we are going on a holiday.  No, they decide to let him come. They will keep their guard up.

Uncle Manomohan arrives.  It is during the day.  Sudhindra is at work.  Anila and their son Satyaki receive Manomohan.  He is polite, charming, engaging, and entertaining.  He seems devout.  He speaks impeccable Bengali.  He sings.  He regales them with stories of his travels.  He talks of Coca-Cola at Times Square, Bison paintings in Spain, the Inca civilization, Popeye the Sailor Man.  He tells great stories to Satyaki and his friends.  How the sun and moon and Earth seem the same sizes during eclipses due to their precise distances from one another.  He gives them coins from foreign lands.

He talks of Wanderlust.  Anila is won over.

Sudhindra comes home ready to confront.  He cannot believe his wife is already taken in.

When he enters Manomohan's guest bedroom, Manomohan wins him over too.  Here is my passport, but do not believe it.  Anyone could forge a passport.  See that I have not unpacked yet.  I can be out of here in five minutes.  You may ask me to leave at a moment's notice.  Take your time.  Get to know me.  You have every right to be suspicious.

And we're on.

For the rest of the film we watch as Uncle Manomohan seeks to win the trust of the family and their friends, charming us along the way with such great stories.  Surely, he has seen the world.

He is so likeable that movie works as a great character drama, regardless of the mystery.

But one of the friends decides to take him on.  He challenges him and they speak bluntly.  Sudhindra and Anila are embarrassed for their lack of hospitality, but the truth must come out.

And in the end it does.

We find out.

Who is this man?

And the answer is satisfying.

And with that, Satyajit Ray concludes his work.

A marvelous way to end a brilliant career.