Customer Reviews

The Middleman [VHS]

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I love Ray's films and this is one of his best. How does a country, a city, a company, a man, become corrupt? This is the story of one man's defining moment when he stands at the edge of the abyss and must decide which path he'll take.

The story begins with a scene of this young man taking his university exams and when given the opportunity to cheat, makes the decision not to. So we start with an honorable person of principal and by the end of the film he is given another opportunity to make another decision that will change his life forever.

This film shows us all of the challenges, disappointments, roadblocks that young people in this time and place experienced and does so very effectively. We share his frustration, his confusion, his hope and his joy when he believes he has found one pathway to the bright tomorrow he seeks.

And as each of the shining prospects turns into something other than what he thought he was choosing, we see his struggle to convince himself that things aren't what he is afraid they might just be. Until the facades drop all together and he is left looking at the ugly reality of the situation he confronts.

As always, Ray takes one man's experience and successfully translates it to the world at large. Which fork will he take? I hope you will see it and find out.

The first time I watched "The Middleman" was back in the eighties on T.V in my home town Calcutta. Very few movies leave a long lasting impression on me, and this is one of those few. Set in Calcutta, India, in the days of economic uncertainty in the post independent India, the main character passes his College degree exam, and tries for a job. He is torn between idealism of his father, who wants to see him as a scholar and intellectual, and honest professional, and the realities of the economy and the job market situation, he struggles to make a living. He gets in the business of order supply, which intrinsically seems to involve lies, corruption, humiliation and betrayals of small kinds. But all those small but impactful daily events transforms him, he learns to get used to the ways of middleman, until he gets in a situation where in order to win a order supply bid, he had to arrange for a prostitute for the business man empowered to make the decision. This puts him in moral dilemma and this dilemma sharpens to an extremely painful climax when he discovers that the girl who he is going to supply was the sister of his best friend. The last scene when he comes back home, with a look of a real middleman entrenched in misery of moral dilemma, the difficulty of not able to see his caring sister-in-law in the eyes, is particularly telling of the inner struggle and the helpless submission to the reality. This movie brings out our eternal struggle within ourselves between compromise and the idealism, between trust and self-deprecation, between faith in the system, and nonchalance.

Although set in 1960's contemporary Calcutta, the appeal of this movie, and the underlying conflicts, and realism, transcend time and locality, and it is a must see for any one interested in understanding how we human beings progress in our lives or digress and be ridden with conscience , and conflicts.

Finished just before India's state of emergency, The Middleman is an angry indictment of a society that has sold its moral compass, cheapening the value of individual human life. At the time of its release, many Western critics called this a satire; though it is often funny (and ruthless in its social criticism), The Middleman is ultimately a tragedy. The best performances of any Ray film. Wonderful street photography and a highly effective score, both by Ray.

I would urge Luanne to see this film again and this time paying attention will definitely help. This is a very tough film with a big city backdrop and like all other Ray films there is no agenda as such... this film is a beautiful and moving portrayal of the hard truths of being a young man in 70's Calcutta, with ideals that are often conflicting but somehow forces one to go on and make a living.

It is beautifully filmed with a telling narative with typical subtlety known only from Satyajit Ray. It is about being compassionate, about the loss of innocence and the conflict between idealism and corruption. The quiet urgency and emotional intensity of the film transcend its context. It is not only a film about India. Just like other Ray masterpieces, it is quite universal.

Although I had long been aware of Satyajit Ray's reputation, living near the video stores of a large Indian community in the USA (Devon Ave. ring a bell with anyone?) gave me the unfair perception that Indian cinema consists solely of mass-appeal escapist musicals that I would watch primarily for their camp potential. But from the time I first read of "The Middleman" several years ago I was intrigued, and finally got around to watching it recently. I was stunned. Almost immediately you can tell that Ray is a cinemagraphic genius. The movie is a masterpiece of realism: if you like the classic Italian film "The Bicycle Thief", you must see "The Middleman". While it shares the critical attitude and something of the style of the best neo-realist works, its indictments are more nuanced, and Ray is not afraid of ambiguity or humor in a "serious" look at society. Everything--photography, sound, editing, music, dialogue, story, acting--is tight, expressive and supremely restrained. This single movie backed up every superlative I had ever heard lavished on Ray, and then some; and I get the impression that this is one of his *minor* films. I can't wait to watch the rest.

Middleman is the story of millions of brilliant Indians who lead thier lives with extreme austerity,classiness and sophistication while stuck in a country whose population is four times that of the US and the land area one-fifth of US. No other country can have the same class and dignity under such pressure. This movie is a testimonial to the greatness of the Indian people.Seriously,if you are a seeker to the question ,that,'Which is the world's best culture -the answer is INDIAN' and see this movie to get a sample of that.Jai Hind.

I continue with the viewer comments that the amazon girl is an imbecile. First of all, the main character doesn't fail the exam, which is important. He passes. And passing means nothing. Because everybody passes because cheating was being encouraged at the time. It is this strange sort of comedy that's only a little bit funny. The first scene is sort of surreal and beautiful. All the actors in the film are so good and so beautiful, too. Strangely, the fashions and the hari-styles seem of 1970's India are so very similar to the styles in New York today. The fashion in the movie is nice. The writing on the walls, the strange half-drawn picture of Indira Gandhi welcoming in the new year 1977. This IS a situated piece, which makes it perhaps all the more reason that it is not just for die-hard Ray fans, but for people who may not care for detached art but want to see some commentary on the world and times expressed artistically. Maybe it's preachy. But not really. More in that Catch 22 sort of way. Comedy that's unnerving to laugh at. Pathetic satire. The characters are unforgettable, particularly... (okay the names might be), the guy that gets Somnath into pimping, and the father, and the friend's sister. The ending is something amazing. The music is great, too. I don't read Bengali. But script and writing is important, from all the writing on the wall, to Somnath's small handwriting (which is in English) and even the way the titles come on the screen in the beginning. It's a very beautiful script that becomes a character or characteristic in the film.

I was initially dissuaded from purchasing this video because the only review that I had to go by, was the critic's review. The movie is not, as he states "for die-hard Ray fans only" but rather, for anyone who appreciates a good, well-made film. While it is true that the subject matter deals with corruption, and yes, this is not a Disney film and not for everyone, it is really a shame not to see it. Ray uses some wonderful cinematographic techniques, such as focusing in on the father's face for an extended period of time, to convey an emotion, to bring us this character's feelings without stating them outright. The soundtrack, as in all of Ray's other films, is wonderfully evocative of the scenes which he is presenting. The movie is well-made, and will keep your interest. You must see it!