Shakespeare's famous line from "Twelfth Night" seems to capture lovely Doya's predicament: "...and some have greatness thrust upon 'em." Such is her fate when her religious father-in-law declares her a goddess, with the proof being an image in a dream.
Seventeen-year-old Doya (Sharmila Tagore) assumes the role with scarcely a word, and soon she is lonely at home, so isolated in her holiness that a bird is her only comfort. Calcutta's wretched and poor find their way to Doya barefoot, confessing sins and beseeching cures. And when a dying boy opens his eyes, Doya becomes a phenomenon.
"Devi" is its strongest when Doya's husband of three years, Uma (Soumitra Chatterjee), implores her to run away with him. However, Doya can't bring herself to get aboard the boat, fearful that something bad will befall him. Yet, in resisting, it's she who's at risk.
This film makes a powerful statement against unquestioning faith, while pointing to changing values in India, where sons are daring to challenge their fathers, despite an ancient scripture that says, "Please your father, and please the gods."
A strength of this film is its cacophonous score, which sets one's nerves a-jangle, creating an atmosphere of discomfort and foreboding. If there is a shortcoming here, it's the movie's ending, which to me seemed rushed and disconnected from the rest.
Always-interesting director Satyajit Ray sets his films in a Bengal of decades ago, but his messages resonate today.
Seventeen-year-old Doya (Sharmila Tagore) assumes the role with scarcely a word, and soon she is lonely at home, so isolated in her holiness that a bird is her only comfort. Calcutta's wretched and poor find their way to Doya barefoot, confessing sins and beseeching cures. And when a dying boy opens his eyes, Doya becomes a phenomenon.
"Devi" is its strongest when Doya's husband of three years, Uma (Soumitra Chatterjee), implores her to run away with him. However, Doya can't bring herself to get aboard the boat, fearful that something bad will befall him. Yet, in resisting, it's she who's at risk.
This film makes a powerful statement against unquestioning faith, while pointing to changing values in India, where sons are daring to challenge their fathers, despite an ancient scripture that says, "Please your father, and please the gods."
A strength of this film is its cacophonous score, which sets one's nerves a-jangle, creating an atmosphere of discomfort and foreboding. If there is a shortcoming here, it's the movie's ending, which to me seemed rushed and disconnected from the rest.
Always-interesting director Satyajit Ray sets his films in a Bengal of decades ago, but his messages resonate today.