Jackson Booth-Millard I found this Indian Bengali film in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I knew nothing about prior to reading about it, but I was hoping for something worthwhile, directed by Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali, Aparajito, The World of Apu). Basically Bishwambar Roy (Chhabi Biswas) is a wealthy landowner, or zamindar, who lives in a palace, the decadent manner of his ancestors, with his wife and son and his many servants. His biggest passion, which his wife thinks of as an addiction, is music, and he spends a great deal of his fortune and time throwing lavish parties for the locals to attend concerts to be held in his magnificent music room. His wealth however is dwindling, his lands are being eroded by the local rivers, and he pays for a concert, arranged for his son's coming of age, by selling some of the family jewels. His neighbour Ganguli (Gangapada Basu) invites him to a party at his house, but Roy decides to organise a party of his own, the same day, and it costs him the last of his jewels. Roy's wife Mahamaya (Padma Devi) and son Khoka (Pinaki Sen Gupta) are killed in a storm, he becomes reclusive, and closes his music room. Many years later, he decides to hold one final concert, spending the last of his money, and again to spite and outdo Ganguli. It ends in tragedy when he rides his horse at speed on the beach, deliberately galloping towards a wrecked ship, the horse is panicked, and he falls to the floor, injuring himself, as he bleeds he dies. To be completely honest, I did not follow the full story as it was playing out, concentrating on the subtitles made this difficult I suppose, but I did enjoy the great music and dance routines that went on in the music room, all in all it a reasonable drama. Okay!

Karl Ericsson If you are not from India and find the cast system an insult to humanity and if you can tell music from noise or hypnotic sounds, then you will probably, as I, have a more sensible view on this film and its virtues than an inbred Indian of the Brahman cast (the most privileged cast). Actually, you cannot really say that this film is a defense of the cast system but it is also not an attack on it. To attack the music in this film and call it noise is, I admit, to put your chin out. Real music is a mystery not something that you dance to. The mystery is how music can make a better human being of somebody, who, through the music, reaches feelings, so overwhelmed by goodness and humility, that they sweep all that is evil out of a person as far as that person allows it and, indeed, experience the music.For sure (and that is why it is always provoking to attack any noise calling itself music) the mystery is not solved, so that you can tell why this music makes you feel and why this other music does not make you feel. The part that has to do with memories can easily be sorted out and leave the mystery intact. This does not mean that the mystery cannot be solved or, if it is solved, is solved in such a way that it ceases to be a mystery, which is expected by any solution of a mystery. We may understand a lot about why music makes us feel what we feel and still not be able to invent new music after some kind of formula. The kind of music that is done after formula will maybe make us dance but will not make us touch God.When judging music, I judge the feelings awoken by it. People may call themselves music lovers and, for sure, have a music library that in quantity is most impressive but when they talk about music it is obvious that they understand something quite different to what those understand who cry to music because it is so moving. Maybe that is the most evident sign of a music lover, crying to music because being deeply moved, but it is, by no means, a sure sign, because swines can also cry when they are not allowed to be as swinish as they want to be. On the whole though, you can start your investigations with those who cry to music to come closer to understand the mystery of music.The music (noise) presented in this film is not something you cry to unless you have childhood memories connected to the music. It is a music however, that easily puts you in a hypnotic state in which some interesting experiences are possible as, for instance, a deeper understanding of Indian way of life. But, unless this way of life makes you cry per se, you will not cry to this kind of music and only to its lyrics, if these are touching enough.In all honesty, I would now have to name music that has touched me to tears (so that I can be attacked in turn). I will have to choose music without lyrics because that is what all this is about. Therefore it will be classical music.The Unfinished Symphony by Schubert. The Fifth Piano Concerto by Beethoven (not all movements). The Sixth Symphony by Beethoven (not all movements) Interlude from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni Nessun Dorma (I don't know Italian so I put it here in spite of lyrics) … and much more but not more than 20 hours of music at the most through out the history of man. Allowing lyrics to the music, the number of hours is, of course, much larger.Back to the film. Well, it left me rather cold, i'm afraid. I have no sympathy for the rich.

Martin Bradley Satyajit Ray made "The Music Room" in 1958, a few years after "Pather Panchali" and before completing the rest of the Apu Trilogy and like them, it too is a masterpiece. It's about the sin of pride and how it destroys the supercilious old landlord Biswambhar Roy, (a magnificent performance from Chhabi Biswas), whose idea of 'keeping up with the Jones'' is to squander all he has on musical evenings that will outdo those of his nearest neighbour. It's also about the transformative affect of music, of which there is much and all of it wonderful. Although you might say it destroys him Biswambhar is also redeemed by opening up his music room for one last great concert.This is also one of the cinema's greatest studies of obsession and of loneliness. If "Pather Panchali" were not enough this confirmed Ray's stature as one of world cinema's greatest directors and it is a film that remains as powerful today as it did when it first appeared. Treasure it.

pgrnair "The Newsweek" magazine once asked Henri Cartier-Bresson , the great French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism , during an interview to name his favorite film. Bresson replied -" Satyajit's Ray's 'The Music Rom'. An old film but one that made an indelible impression on my mind.""The Music Room" is a film that led to greatness by Satyajit Ray's devotion to a single mood: elegiac. Ray isn't alone in sculpting this great piece. The acting by Chabi Biswas as the crumbling aristocrat Huzar Biswambhar Roy, cinematography by Subrata Mitra and music direction by Ustad Vilayat Khan all contribute immensely. The film adaptation of Tarashankar Banerjee's short story but instead of creating an exact adaptation, Satyajit Ray gave his own spin to the film, making music, rather being an interlude, an integral part of the screenplay. In "Jalsaghar or The Music Room", Ray examines the age-old conflict between the landed nobility and the rich without pedigree, between those who dwell in the past and those who embrace the future. Using the same meticulous, unforced style employed in his celebrated "Apu Trilogy",Ray explores how one man's need for a pampered, sumptuous lifestyle leads inexorably towards his complete ruin. It's a fascinating snapshot of Indian culture in the 1930s, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of an inflated opinion of self-worth.Set in the 1930's with the emerging nouveau rich, Roy is the last in a long of rich patriarchs, stumbling as his estate diminishes but clinging till the end to his refined means. Roy lives in a mansion in the middle of a desert, a symbol of his isolation from encroaching destitute. Roy is frequently filmed alone, as are other subjects (his dog, horse, elephant). The film begins with the elderly Zamindar (landlord) sitting alone, staring blankly in his back garden overlooking a once proud space. He is served by one of his two humble and loyal servants. The story flashes back some 15-20 years to a more glorious time when the younger Huzar, with his young son Khoka and wife Padma (the realist/pragmatist to Huzar's idealism) was the class of his region, hosting luxurious concerts in his home. Huzar's centerpiece, his ivory tower and final refuge from the external reality/realism is the titular music room. The room reflects the Huzar's pride, his heirloom, his inner soul. Ray draws us in spatially, in concentric circles, from the outer oasis, to the backyard pool/yard, to the mansion, to the music room and further yet, the music room's stage. Likewise Mitra's camera often, and nearly always in relation to Roy, dollies inwards toward Roy. The movement not only serves to honor the character and make us feel more empathy toward him, but counterpoints the film's maze-like construction. Chhabi Biswas gives a superb performance as the crumbling feudal landlord. Subrata Mitra's cinematography and music by Ustad Vilayat Khan all contribute immensely to create the atmosphere. " Music Room" is a very visual film -- there are numerous ingenious shots (the insect dying in the glass, the bliss of an elephant being bathed in the river, the joy of the servants reopening the dusty music room, the way the chandelier gets reflected in the wine glass revealing Huzur's states of mind , and the last scene where a spider crawls up the leg of his own portrait) and a stirring dance sequence. The camera movements reinforce the character and highlight film's maze-like construction and Roy being trapped in his past. "The Music Room" remains as a majestic masterpiece of a man's monumental effort to cling to his illustrious legacy and hold his head high when his feet wither.