Pather Panchali (1955)

Pather Panchali poster

Government of West Bengal
Starring: Uma Das Gupta, Chunibala Devi
Directed by: Satyajit Ray

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: The classic story of a family in India who struggle during the absence of the father who has left them to look for work.

Cat Burglars (Scene Stealers): There are several cats throughout the film that live around the family’s home. They start as kittens who are cared for by the little girl, Durga (Uma Das Gupta). She pulls them out of a pot at the beginning of the film to feed them some milk (she even shoves one of the kitten’s muzzles down in the milk).

Pather Panchali - Durga Uma Das Gupta taking kitten out of pot

Pather Panchali - Durga Uma Das Gupta pushing second kittens face into bowl of milk

Pather Panchali - Durga Uma Das Gupta taking third kitten out of pot

The kittens are seen in several of the early scenes, playing around the yard.

Pather Panchali - kittens running in background behind Aunty Chunibala Devi

Pather Panchali - Durga Uma Das Gupta with kittens in yard

Pather Panchali - Durga Uma Das Gupta sweeping yard with kittens playing nearby

One of the kittens is even seen sleeping with Durga.

Pather Panchali - Durga Uma Das Gupta sleeping with kitten beside her

As the film progesses the children grow and so do the kittens. A multicolored cat is seen running after Durga in one scene.

Pather Panchali - cat following older Durga Uma Das Gupta across yard

Pather Panchali - cat pausing behind Aunty Chunibala Devi who is shaking out cloth

The same cat is seen several times, running through various scenes.

Pather Panchali - multicolored cat running through scene

Pather Panchali - multicolored cat running through yard

Durga is also shown holding the cat as she talks to her mother.

Pather Panchali - Durga Uma Das Gupta holding multicolored cat while talking to mother

The family’s dog also shares a scene with one of the kitties.

Pather Panchali - multicolored cat with dog in yard

Kitty Carnage Warnings! While cats are obviously sharing their lives with this family, sadly they are given some rough treatment, especially in an early scene. An old aunt they call Aunty (Chunibala Devi) also lives with the family. She causes stress for the mother (Karuna Bannerjee) by stealing food, and after an argument Aunty is furious and packs to leave. A kitten is seen sitting outside the door when Aunty unceremoniously drops her packed bundle right on top of the poor thing.

Pather Panchali - kitten sitting outside door

But this is not the worst of it. Moments later Aunty grabs the kitten and literally throws it on the ground. This is a highly disturbing scene, and sadly will infuriate any cat lover.

Pather Panchali - Aunty Chunibala Devi after throwing kitten down on ground

Even Durga treats the kittens roughly, tossing the cat she is holding to the ground. It’s really a shame that these few sad moments should be included in what is a truly beautiful film.

Pather Panchali - Durga Uma Das Gupta carrying cat