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Charulata (vhs):

Amazon.com Essentials: Made in 1964, this Satyajit Ray period piece is set in a Calcutta about to enter the last decade of the 19th century. Madhabi Muherjee, who also had the leading role in Ray's The Big City (1963), portrays a bored and neglected housewife whose husband, Bhupati (Sailen Mukherjee), is spurred by his passion for his political newspaper, The Sentinel, and not by his passion for her.

Bhupati is not a bad man, just a distracted one, and in an effort to appease his guilt, he asks his young and very handsome cousin, Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee) to encourage Charulata in her writing. After all, she is an intelligent woman and such an undertaking will keep her occupied. But he tells Amal not to let Charulata know of his mission.

Over the course of time the inevitable happens and the two fall in love, never revealing their feelings to each other. Bhupati finds out accidentally how his wife feels and is crushed. This isn't his only problem. Another relative, the bookkeeper at Bhupati's paper, embezzles money and compromises The Sentinel's chances for success.

Ray manages to create a highly charged atmosphere of restrained yet innocent lust. Inspired by New Wave film makers Truffaut and Goddard, Ray starts to experiment with his visual style. Madhabi Muherjee's performance is touching. If you love Ray, see this movie. If you don't love Ray, you will after seeing it. --Luanne Brown