THE HOME AND THE WORLD

Satyajit Ray (“The Apu Trilogy,” “The Chess Players”) fulfills a long-cherished dream in his magnificently filmed and acted adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's 1919 novel. THE HOME AND THE WORLD, like his 1964 “Charulata,” is centered on a romantic love triangle, here set against the complex backdrop of India's first terrorist movement. It is 1908 and the British plan to divide Bengal causes strife between Hindus and Moslems. Nikhil (Victor Bannerjee, “Passage To India”), a liberal, high-caste Hindu, begs his wife, Bimala, to emerge from traditional purdah (seclusion) and meet his friend, Sandip, the charismatic but self-seeking revolutionary. They fall in love and Bimala is won over to Sandip's cause before all 3, like India, share disillusionment and tragedy.