Charulata

Ray’s masterpiece. Even more so than his Apu trilogy. The opening sequence suggests a languorous ennui (like something out of Antonioni), but it quickly fills up with the longing for something very tangible. Ray builds a love story out of glances and stares - one that’s never confessed to the characters or the audience. But what’s more overbearing in the film is how potentially destructive such an affair can be. It’s the weight of betrayal that make the characters question their own happiness.  The final sequence is stunning. A passion forever lost in time.