Customer Reviews

The Adversary (Orig: Pratidwandi / Aka: Siddharta and the City)

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Satyajit Ray is an important film director, whose work shows a technical virtuosity equal to that of Orson Welles or Howard Hawks, sensitivity to character and social networks equal to that of Yasujiro Ozu, ability to depict a social background equal to that of Akira Kurosawa or Jean Renoir. Of his 37 or so films, eight are available in the UK, seven in the US (four titles common to both countries). Even in India only 24 of Ray's titles are available. Although commonly listed as among the half dozen or so greatest directors in cinema, at the moment at least those interested in film must take this assessment largely on trust.

Pratidwandi, the Adversary, was made in 1970. As in many of Ray's films, he was responsible for script, direction and music. It's an effective portrait of a city, Calcutta, at a particular time, seen from the viewpoint of a medical student, Siddartha, forced to leave university and find a job because of his father's death and the family's sudden descent into poverty.

Jobs are not to be found. Siddartha sits in countless waiting rooms, sweltering in the heat, waiting to be interviewed, never accepted despite his qualifications and ability. He is one of dozens who queue and are rejected. The city is in a state of unrest, the country in crisis. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had declared martial law; political opposition was suppressed and turned covert as communist activists committed acts of terrorism in protest. The situation has repercussions in Siddartha's family. His younger brother is an activist willing to throw bombs; his sister finds work only by dallying with her boss after hours, to the distress of the children's mother. Siddartha, more sensitive than either, is torn between his love of both and concern as to where their behavior will take them. Ray contrasts the desperation of the Calcutta citizens with a band of tripping tourists getting high on the local 'color'. A prosperous businessman hits a pedestrian and is hauled from his car and beaten by a furious mob of bystanders while the businessman's teenage daughter watches terrified from the back seat. Finally Siddartha cracks. Furiously he demands more consideration from a group of employers. Told to mind his place, he overturns a desk, smashes furniture and leaves the city to accept a menial sales job in a backward village. The one hope he has is his developing relationship with a college acquaintance, Keya. Here, as in all his films, Ray is superb in conveying subtexts through glances and conversational ploys. In a few words, a few glances, is conveyed a relationship as convincing as any ever seen on film, the equal of that between Apu and Aparna in Apur Sansar, the World of Apu.

This release of the Adversary from the New York Film Annex is mastered from a worn film print. Contrast is high, lowering visibility in many scenes and twice, once outdoors in full sun and once indoors in an unlighted interior, the composition can hardly be seen at all. There are marks on the film surface at all times, stains and stretch marks which are the signs of frequent projection. Noise is audible throughout, detracting from the soundtrack music by Ray. Subtitles are large (almost a quarter the height of the screen) and obscure the composition of scenes, but they are the white ones once common which cannot be read on a white background. As well, not all dialog is translated. Several times a character asks a question (subtitled) but the answer is not translated. As a result this is not an easy edition to watch, tolerable only because, amazingly, it is such a rarity to have a Satyajit Ray film made available.

The same problems bedevil the two films released by Bollywood Entertainment, Charulata and Mahapurush. Charulata is Ray's best film, one of the half dozen greatest films ever made, and it's distressing to see it in an edition where surface noise covers the soundtrack and half the images are invisible. The same is true of the edition released by the Bengali distributor RE. These comments are thankfully not true of Eureka's Masters of Cinema edition of Abhijan, a superb restoration, nor of Sony's (US) or Artificial Eye's (UK) release of the Apu trilogy, nor hopefully of Kino's release of the Chess Players. True appreciation of Ray's achievement is really down to the viewing of just four or five of his films. Just imagine if of the 37 plays of Shakespeare you could only buy four or five, with two or more others available with half the text missing.

"The Adversary" -- one of the fine films of Satyajit Ray -- is a great film classic -- if only for two scenes. In one, the protagonist spends a sweltering day in a stifling waiting room, hoping to get a job. What ensues is unforgettable. Later, in a second scene, the protagonist meets a young woman and talks with her about their future prospects while strolling atop a high-rise building in downtown Calcutta. In a vivid display of calculated mise en scene technique, Ray blocks his two subjects against a backdrop of thousands of Calcuttans, swarming in a park a dozen stories beneath them. With this empathetic visual metaphor, Ray captures the dilemma of India in the 1960s -- a country of great human assets but overwhelmed resources and infrastructure. This film provides great insight into the fascination and frustration of life in India during this era.

BE WARNED: This DVD will not play on my standard Sony DVD player even though Amazon describes it as "Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)" The reason is that it is in PAL format. So dig through the fine print in your DVD player manual to make sure that it will play PAL format before you buy this DVD. My Region 1 Sony will play NTSC only, so it will not play it.

The critical point in the film is the caged bird's song he hears while in the Calcutta bazaar, suspending him,

later from outside his window while writing the letter after he took the job to teach in the village,

at the window he stands, as the film ends

listening to same beautiful song coming from the forest or field...

as I recall the 72 screening I saw in Washington D.C.

sitting now in an Oregon forest surrounded by singing birds

The Adversary (1972) shows us life in Calcutta from the viewpoint of a young man named Siddhartha. He is a former medical student that now needs to get a job because his father passed away. His sister has a job but because gossip has it that she and her boss may be up to more than just work, he would love to find a job so she wouldn't have to keep working there.

But getting a job isn't easy for our hero Siddhartha. With interviewers asking a barrage of questions on many random topics placing a job is a difficult task. It doesn't help any that several dozen people are all competing for the same job. As in any tough job market, knowing the right people and having connections is more important than education or qualifications.

An underlining message in the film is political, more specifically that the system is a difficult one and unjust. In the first interview we see Siddhartha on, he is asked if he is a communist. He avoids the question well and they point that out too. Towards the end of the film, there is a scene resembling vertigo that has a hammer and sickle on the background, which is the well-known communist symbol. All in all, I would say the political nature of the movie is subtle but undeniably present.

I was in suspense for some time wondering why the movie is titled The Adversary. By the end, I had a good idea what the title is referring to but I will save you the suspense and let you decide for yourself.

Satyajit Ray is a remarkable director. The Adversary is the first part of his Calcutta Trilogy. Because this movie has a fairly simple story about life, it is one people can relate with. If you enjoy world cinema, The Adversary is a compelling portrait of the effects of city life in India.

Although Satyajit Ray made several masterpieces, this is probably his angriest and boldest film filled with the angst of youth in the early 70's, a period of turmoil in most of the world and especially in Calcutta, Ray's hometown. Though the film is not as poetic or refined as many of his other films (e.g. Pather Panchali, Charulata) it is a hard-hitting film, in which no character is perfect and have to survive in a cruel world where only the meanest and most ambitious can succeed. Ray takes his typical non-judgmental, non-preachy look at a confused character during that period of turmoil, but his personal views and sympathies are more evident in this than any of his other films. A true masterpiece!

It describes the slow death of one of the great city of the world, Calcutta, during the days of the Maoist movement of 1970s and the social and economic degeneration of that once great city. This is an excellent analysis of psychology of the frustrated youth of Calcutta with great humanistic approach