‘The Apu Trilogy’ At Cinestudio For 13 Days

Movie directors love trilogies. There have been dozens throughout film history, of both art-house and popcorn genre films. There’s Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy, Jean Cocteau’s Orphic trilogy, Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Three Colors” trilogy, Bergman’s “Silence of God” trilogy, the “Matrix,” “Back to the Future,” Dragon Tattoo” and “Lord of the Rings” trilogies. The appeal of the trilogy is so strong that some directors make a third film when they probably should have stopped at two, as in Coppola’s “Godfather” trilogy.

The trilogy most beloved by film critics, scholars and historians is “The Apu Trilogy.” The three Bengali-language films by Satyajit Ray tell the story of the childhood and young adulthood of the boy Apu. In “Pather Panchali,” (1955), Apu is a boy growing up in an elite family that has fallen on hard times. In “Aparajito” (1956), Apu is accepted at a school and turns out to be a prodigy. In “Apur Sansar” (1959), Apu is an aspiring writer with personal troubles.

The whole trilogy was recently restored to 4K ultra high definition, and will be shown in its entirety at Cinestudio, the cinema at 300 Summit St. on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford. The three films will be shown in consecutive order repeatedly for 13 days in a row, from Aug. 14 to 26, at 7:30 p.m. daily, with 2:30 p.m. matinees on Sunday.

Also at Cinestudio, the monthly Second Thursday series of LGBT-themed films will continue on Thursday, Aug. 13, at 7:30 p.m. with “Tiger Orange,” a story of two gay brothers whose lifestyles are very different.

For a complete “Apu Trilogy” schedule, visit www.cinestudio.org.