Set #2 of the match between Satyajit Ray from India and Andrzej Wajda of Poland brings us into the years 1956 and ’57. Ray arrives on the court first and unveils Aparajito, the continuing saga of Apu, again based on the novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.

Wajda takes his time getting out onto the court, wrapping himself in red and white, the national colors of Poland. He uses an original script this time, one that continues his theme of Poland’s struggles during WWII. Kanal shows how the Warsaw Uprising went down the sewers.

Ray quickly serves, getting right back into the life of Apu, who now lives with his mother and father in the city, where he runs free like a monkey, according to his mother. His father makes a decent living as a freelance priest and by selling herbal medicine on the side, but his mother still seems unhappy with their lot in life. It doesn’t help that she has to deal with a creepy neighbor man. Soon enough, the father falls ill, and although he initially recovers from his ailment, it becomes apparent that it is only temporary. Now on their own, Apu’s mother decides to leave the city, accepting an offer from a family member to live in the country. Similar to Pather Panchali, Ray chooses to primarily focus on the day-to-day activities of the family during the opening 20 minutes. As with that film, Karuna Bannerjee, as the mother, carries the first part of the film with her solid acting.

Wajda jumps right into the thick of a battle between what’s left of a group of the Polish Home Army and the Germans. He does a great job introducing the characters as they find shelter in a crumbling apartment building. The primary focus is on Korab (Tadeusz Janczar, who also appeared in Pokolenie and was killed) and Daisy (Teresa Izewska), one of the many women who traversed the sewers to deliver messages. Korab is shot while heroically disabling a remote miniature tank-like device, and is cared for by Daisy, as the group’s leader, Lt. Zadra (Wienczyslaw Glinski), receives orders to retreat to the sewers, an order that is not welcomed by his troops. Since the audience is forewarned of the group’s demise, the relationships between the characters carries a sense of urgency. The point goes to Wajda for more style while maintaining an equally realistic atmosphere in his opening.

Wajda’s next serve is low and fast. As his characters retreat into the sewer, the story breaks into three lines, each following a distinct groups of characters, the primary still being Korab and Daisy. Daisy was the only one who knew the way out, and since her and Korab fall behind due to Korab’s injuring, the other two groups are on their own. The tension between characters, as well as the overall sense of doom, is heightened with every shot. The sense of realism is largely due to the script by Jerzy Stefan Stawinski, who was a soldier who participated in the Warsaw Uprising and retreated to the sewers when it became necessary for survival.

Ray returns his focus on the relationship between Apu and his mother, which goes back and forth as Apu ages and moves away for school. Apu’s mother wants what is best for her son, but at the same time, he is all she has left in the world and doesn’t want to let him go. Apu, meanwhile, struggles primarily with the balance between work and school. Like many college kids, he neglects to write to his mother, never realizing the impact it has on her. The train, an important link between Durga and Apu in the first film, becomes the critical link between Apu and his mother in this film. Point goes to Ray for the singular focus of his story and an excellent sense of longing in the scenes with the mother.

Ray’s final serve falls short of the line. Apu must find his own way in life but he is going to have to do it alone. The ending is fairly anti-climatic, and it is difficult to feel for Apu as one did in the first film. It has come to the point where it seems that death is the only constant in Apu’s life and is expected. It will be interesting to see how this theme continues in the third film. Other than a brief scene of Apu and other children running through the alleys of the city early in the film (and reminiscent of a similar scene in Slumdog Millionaire), this film lacked the magic of Pather Panchali. I can’t quite explain why I stopped feeling for Apu and his mother as the story wore on. Her death seemed immaterial, which is perhaps the point. As a critique of Indian culture, she was no longer useful for any male and vanished.

Wajda finishes with a bigger bang. Members of each group reach their end in different ways: suicide, murder, accidents. The futures of those remaining is left open but is captured metaphorically in the final scene with Daisy and Korab. They arrive at an opening of the sewer at a river but cannot escape due to metal bars. Daisy can see the other side of the river (where in real life the Soviets were waiting to take over after the Germans finished their killing spree) and she softly explains what she sees to Korab, who hasn’t the energy to open his eyes. While neither film offers much hope at the end, they do invite the need to know how the lives of the remaining characters will continue, a difficult task for the second film of a trilogy. Unfortunately, the characters in Wajda’s trilogy do not carry through the films, as they do in Ray’s trilogy.

Point and set go to Wajda for a more in-depth look at people facing certain defeat but who struggle to move ahead in the worst of conditions. The sewer scenes, although suffering from some lighting issues, stick with you long after the film has ended. As I was taking screenshots, I knew that Kanal would prevail because I ended up with twice as many shots for it.

Next up: Set #3, The World of Apu and Ashes and Diamonds