With Goopy (Tapan Chatterjee) and Bagha (Robi Ghosh), the two ne'er-do-well musicians whose enchanted adventures are chronicled in Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Satyajit Ray created two of the most beloved characters in Indian cinema. They would later reunite for a sequel, The Kingdom of Diamonds, and novelist Salman Rushdie even gave them a cameo appearance in his book Harun and the Sea of Stories. A departure from the subtle humanist dramas for which Ray most well-known, this film bounces along on the goofball charm of Chatterjee and Ghosh, and is full of the exuberance, magic, and adventure that make for great children's movies. The famed "dance of ghosts" sequence could stand alone as an avant-garde film, and adds a burst of cinematic prestidigitation that grown-ups can be wowed by along with their kids. A true renaissance man, Ray not only wrote and directed Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, he composed the music as well.
by Tom Vick
review
