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For this Special Thursday Cinema Night, first up is The World of Apu (1959), AKA Apur Sansar, an Indian drama from the most renowned Indian director of all time, Satyajit Ray; we have previously watched his films The Big City (1963), The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha (1969), and The Kingdom of Diamonds (1980). It is the direct sequel to Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito (1956), which we watched the previous two Thursdays, centering on an older version of the protagonist from those films, Apu, as he travels to the village of a college friend to attend a wedding. Uh-oh, turns out the groom has cold feet on his wedding day, and abandons his bride; to help her save face, Apu agrees to marry her instead. Drama ensues as Apu learns to adjust to wedded life, and then, to fatherhood. As with its predecessors, this is considered atypical for Indian films of the time for its Italian-neorealist-esque tone, eschewing the usual song and dance numbers in favor of gritty, grounded drama. Also features a soundtrack by famed Indian musician Ravi Shankar. This is widely considered one of the greatest films of all time; it is currently ranked #84 on the Letterboxd Top 500.

After that is Michael (2026), a biopic of some guy named Michael Jackson. His nephew, Jaafar Jackson, plays the young singer as he conquers the world with his creative genius and definitely doesn’t do anything problematic. The picture follows his life until 1992 and stops there, even though he lived until 2009. Wonder why they did that. At any rate, we can expect a whole lot of singing and dancing to some catchy tunes. This is one of the biggest box-office hits of the year, having grossed a billion dollars worldwide. Director Antoine Fuqua is otherwise best-known for Training Day (2001), The Equalizer (2014), and Olympus Has Fallen (2013).

We’ll start at 8PM EST on Blorptube, right here:

https://blorp.bot.nu/o/visual_cuisine

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• The World of Apu: https://letterboxd.com/film/apur-sansar/
• Michael: https://letterboxd.com/film/michael-2026/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• The World of Apu: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/835352
• Michael: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/1114745

CWs for The World of Apu:

• Death of animal.
• Animal corpses.
• Fat jokes.
• Bath scene.
• Natural bodies of water.
• Smoking.
• Sad ending.

CWs for Michael:

• Michael Jackson.
• Child abuse.
• Domestic violence.
• Abusive parents.
• Abused person forgives their abuser.
• Gaslighting.
• Belt beating.
• Snakes.
• Bullying.
• Razors.
• Cancer.
• Hospital scene.
• PTSD.
• Body dysmorphia.
• Anxiety attacks.
• Body dysphoria.
• Nervous breakdown.
• Someone struggles to breathe.
• Flashing lights.
• Jump scares.
• Shaky cam.
• Screaming.
• Profanity.
• Someone is watched without their knowledge.
• Hate speech.
• Discussion of religion.
• Male character ridiculed for crying.
• Chronic illness.
• Blood.
• Gun violence.
• Shaving.

Links to movies:

• The World of Apu: https://tankie.tube/w/vv91EFFoFGaD9tEpKzzh5M
• Michael: https://tankie.tube/w/4Ez397BE6o3V3gnPD9hZQr