A letter to Anila (Mamata Shankar) announcing the return of her long lost uncle leaves her curious even as it provokes deep suspicion from her husband Sudhin (Deepankar De). On his arrival, Manmohan (Utpal Dutt) proves to be highly charming, going to considerable lengths to ingratiate himself with the couple and their young son. However neither husband nor wife are truly convinced, less out of suspicion and more because Manmohan’s larger-than-life nature leaves him out of place in their mundane life. Ananthropologist affected with “wanderlust”, Manmohan’s experience of different cultures leaves him a stranger in his homeland and an outsider amongst his remaining family.
Adapted from one of his own stories, Satyajit Ray’s The Stranger is a refined philosophical comedy; gentle in its satire of middle-class family mores and elegiac for the traditions of hospitality it weakly upholds. The film, produced by French admirers Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Toscan du Plantier, proved to Ray’s last, a fitting capstone to a landmark career.
The Stranger was Satyajit Ray's last film, and it shows all the virtues of a master artist in full maturity -- Washington Post
A small, gentle, exquisitely realized comedy about, among other things, family loyalties and trust in a world in which traditions have been devalued -- New York Times
Technical: 1991 / 95 minutes / Bengali with English subtitles / Mono audio / 1.33 : 1 Colour / DVD PAL Multi Region / MRBDVD021
Licensed through Contemporary Films on behalf of Satyajit Ray Estate.
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