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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonder and the Life of Philosophy in Society, 1 November 2003
Author: Avi Solomon (avisolo) from Jerusalem, Israel

This remarkable film is in many ways a self portrait of Satyajit Ray because he was none other than an anthropologist and philosopher in the true sense of playful, childlike wonder. This is the the story of how how a life of curiousity and wonder have to survive in this cruel and foolish world which judges everything in materialistic terms. The philosopher is always and everywhere a stranger,though full of joy, simplicity and wonder at Being which is fervently demonstrated in the 'cosmic magician' sequence. Only those with the child in them alive will understand!

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Most impressed by Satyajit Ray's knowledge and filmmaking skills., 10 December 1999

Author: Rakesh Chaudhary (rakeshc@excite.com)

This is only the second Satyajit Ray film I have seen (the first being Two Daughters). I must say that I regret having not seen his movies till now. Agantuk is a very beautiful and simple movie. What is complex is the characters, and the way the story unfolds.

I am mostly impressed by Satyajit Ray's vast knowledge about various topics on history, science, religion and society, which is clearly evident from the movie. Satyajit Ray is a master film-maker, and gets out the best performance from his actors.

I am surely looking forward to seeing more of his work.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Masterful Narrative, 9 October 2005

Author: jbm27

What a beautiful film, full of subtleties and ironies. It requires one to contemplate the nature of identity and what one really wants in life. How well do we know our relatives; and, more importantly, how well do we know ourselves? The film beautifully portrays a wide range of emotions with sensitivity as well as hummer. It also includes a mesmerizing indigenous dance performance which contrasts the middle-class world of the protagonists, awakening them to another world. The "stranger" or the long-lost uncle is a marvel, evoking laughter and tears. All in all, delightful throughout. For some reason foreign cinema continues to go unrecognized, while American studios continue to invest inaction movies that only insult intelligence to an already overly ridiculed nation. Watch it you will enjoy it immensely.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Aging, 10 January 2005

Author: Daniel Hayes (dphayes@dal.ca) from Halifax, NS

It is possible and dangerous to read too much into a director's final film as being a "swan song" or a "culmination," and it seems to be an easy "insight" by those unable to come up with something better. But here we have a veritable summation and a compelling final statement of a brilliant career.

Whenever I watch an S. Ray film, I always feel lost trying to find a main theme or thrust in the story. Here we have several: ancient custom vs. technology, self-discovery, mystery/doubt, etc. But they all co-mingle in this extraordinarily complex character (based on Ray himself no doubt, hence the high level of insight). His was a cinema of life, scattered and bewildering, yet sublimely beautiful.

Still, Ray remains one of the few great directors from his era who never quite mastered the use of colour. Indeed, the lingering shots of images lacks the power of say the chandelier in "Jalsaghar," and the regret and sorrow on the faces of the family doesn't come anywhere close to the final scenes of "Pather."

On top of this we have Ray trying most explicitly to be philosophical. Some of Manmohan's laments on civilisation resemble passages from "Notes From Underground," and we even have the husband talking about having to "put two and two together," but these themes seem to be mentioned for the sake of mentioning them. Ray, like Manmohan, was an anthropologist, not a philosopher. Still, there are some deeply touching moments in this overall capably and thoughtfully made film.

3 out of 5 - Some strong elements

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Sublime!, 22 May 2003
Author: rljsax from NYC

Simple and eloquent. The Stranger may be too charming for many of today's hipsters. A bit corny perhaps, but corn tastes great when it's cooked properly. The acting alone is worth the price of admission. If this was Ray's swan song, I'm sure he's resting in peace. Bravo, maestro!

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Ray Ray, 13 March 2008

Author: jcappy from ny-vt

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Ours is a culture that heaps scorn on the nonconformist. Atheists are cold, and too intellectual; leftists are humorless, and sectarian; Luddites are anti-progress, and clueless; the erudite philosopher is self-indulgent and all hot air ideas; the social critic is superior, and nasty; the truthful is stuffy and strained, and the feminist is moralistic and man-hating. We love to spin the spotlight onto their weak points and deny them their multiple strengths.

S. Ray, in "The Stranger," takes just the reverse stance. His Uncle Mitre can be said to belong to all the above identities, and yet bears, in the end, none of the hostility and distrust directed at them. That he possesses independence, unusual intelligence and talent, commitment to his own ideas, and drive is only one reason for this. More importantly he has S. Ray, India's best director, and one of world's most acclaimed directors, on his side. Ray is all about human-ness, and the discernment of ideas that support human-ness, and Mitre supplies the latter--and the former. His alignment with native peoples over so-called civilization is an alignment with human-ness. And it is this alliance which shames those who are too quick to narrowly interpret and curse the idealist outsider.

Yes, it's hard to stand against so much wit, brilliance, and human-ness, so Sudhindra, the skeptical businessman, and his interrogator friends and all their antithetical values, fall one by one into the arms of their suspect--the evidence they sought being of an entirely different nature than what they conceived--the proof actually being found more in Anila's generous perceptions of her uncle, than in passports or other legal documents.

Uncle is Nemo is no man. He is an outsider, filled with wanderlust. He escapes official lies, settled assumptions, but to do this he needs to trust humans--and he also needs to test that trust in order to maintain motion. If in the process, he works a few wonders, transmuting hardness and distrust into understanding, generosity and dance, all the more proof that the anti-teacher lives.

If only Ray could live on too but the near unavailability here of his stirring, beautiful masterpieces constitutes a great loss.

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Ray's own take on "civilisation", 15 November 2005

Author: sagnik_sahu from India

It does have the quintessential charm of Ray's craftsmanship. Having said that I must admit that this movie cannot be placed in the same league of "Charulata" or "Aparajito".In spite of being witty the dialogues are verbose at times. The characterisation of the main protagonist(Manomohan Mitra) looks forced in few occasions. In the character of Prithwish Sen Gupta one finds a very "cliched villain" which is quite uncharacteristic of Ray. I need not mention that the words uttered by Manomohan Mitra are nothing but Ray's own "commentary" of modern contemporary society. They are rich in value and devoid of hypocrisy.Probably it would have been lot nicer if the "commentary" would have unfolded in terms of the narration of the story rather being put in the dialogue directly which gives it a theatrical quality instead of adding cinematic value.

However the conflict of the characters,their apprehensions and predicaments are portrayed very beautifully.This movie is gifted with excellent performances from all the actors. Undoubtedly it will be a treat to Ray's ardent fans.

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
A magnificent painting in motion, 19 July 2005

Author: Sushmit Sarkar from India

One of the greatest films I have ever seen, it is directly comparable with his second movie (pather Panchali) as his finest till date. The movie is all about family relationships and the idea of money. He knows how to direct the regular 'life', pitched in reality and his movies give enough reason for us to understand his brilliance. Utpal Duttas performance is mesmerizing and together , with Ray's sublime direction and Utpal's sensitive,sensational acting this movie is a masterpiece for 'teachers' and 'students'. Just Brilliant. Stop watching mindless movies of Spielberg and direct your valuable time towards Ray, Kurosawa, Chang wook park, Truffaut, Eisenstein, Ritwik Ghatak, Pudovkin, Kieslowski, Almadovar, Antonino, Godard, Wong kar Wai, Fellini, Bertolucci, Makmalbaf, Kiarostami, Bergman, Wajda, Jeunet, Szabo etc

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
subtly builds to crescendo, 6 July 2000

Author: maharani_md from Bethesda, MD

Enchanting film that carefully builds on its music and bakground and mysticism. The characters all are "agantuk" (outsiders) in their own way, and none so much as the man who prides himself on being most conventional until his world is turned upside down. On the surface, this is a marvelous essay on trust and identity and spirituality. Dig further, it is this and much more.

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1 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Letdown, 20 September 1999

Author: Sid Debgupta from Kolkata

A disappointing movie from the master, I believe he was in some hurry to finish this and it shows. Apart from Utpal Dutta, the acting is horrendous. The movie is short on theme, plot and pace, and would, if it had been directed by someone else, been summarily dismissed as ordinary.

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