Return of the Masters

Satyajit Ray made "Pather Panchali' (1955) & Ingmar Bergman made "The Seventh Seal" (1957). The main character types in these two films were repeated in Ray's "Ashani Sanket" (1973) & Bergman's "The Serpent's Egg' (1977). It is proposed to point out the similarities here.

Ray returned to film in rural Bengal & deal with a Brahmin Priest (albeit more prosperous this time around) in colour this time. But external factors like the Bengal Famine (British made) put him & his wife in dire straits again. Though the time frame was much later with corresponding social changes, both stories were written by Bibhuti Bhushan Bandyopadhyay.

Strolling players' family played a pivotal role in the iconic "The Seventh Seal" set at the time of Black Death in Europe. "The Serpent's Egg", set at the start of the Nazi era uses a Circus couple as the pivotal characters. The Jewish man, out of work because of drink, is put to work in the archives where results of biological experiments are stored. The doctor there kills himself by cyanide, & the Jew let off but goes missing. The woman follows the oldest profession & there is no child Michael, as in the earlier film to create hope.