The Branches of the Tree

The Branches of the Tree

1990 · 130 min · ★ 7.2 · Drama

When a wealthy patriarch falls ill on his 70th birthday, three of his sons rush in from Calcutta, leading to a reunion filled with painful ironies and lingering disillusionment. As the family—including an addled fourth son who lives with the old man—watches and waits, the static occasion brings out simmering tensions in their family dynamics, from the father’s moral rectitude to the business ambition of two sons and the withdrawal of their siblings.

Directed by Satyajit Ray · Written by Satyajit Ray

Your Rating

Cast

Ajit Banerjee Ananda Majumdar
Soumitra Chatterjee Prashanto Majumdar
Haradhan Bandyopadhyay Probodh Majumdar
Dipankar Dey Probir Majumdar
Ranjit Mallick Protap Majumdar
Lily Chakravarty Uma Majumdar
Mamata Shankar Tapati Majumdar
Soham Chakraborty Dipayan "Dingu" Majumdar
Promode Ganguly
Bhishma Guhathakurta
Sunil Gupta Kabiraj
Soven Lahiri

Make it a double feature

3h 49m together

The Branches of the Tree

An Enemy of the People

Both from Satyajit Ray.

More from Satyajit RaySee all →

The World of Apu

The World of Apu · 1959

The World of Apu

Apu, now a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer, is invited to join an old college friend on a trip up-country to a village wedding.

The Hero

The Hero · 1966

Arindam, a matinee idol, is going by train to collect an acting award. On the train, he is confronted by Aditi, a journalist who somewhat unwillingly starts to take his interview. Arindam, won over by Aditi's naivete, starts to disclose his past, his fears and his secrets.

Double Feluda

Double Feluda · 2016

MovieMysteryCrime

The movie consists of two Feluda stories by Satyajit Ray, Samaddar-er-Chabi and Golokdham Rahashya, shown on either half of the film. It was a tribute to the 50-year anniversary of Feluda and a sequel to Royal Bengal Rahashya (2011).

Aparajito

Aparajito · 1956

Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.

The Big City

The Big City · 1963

Arati takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman in Calcutta's wealthy neighbourhoods, in defiance of her traditionally-minded husband, Subrata, and his live-in parents. Emulating her Anglo-Indian friend Edith, who speaks equal to the men she encounters on the job, Arati quickly becomes her firm's top salesperson. When Subrata loses his job, the power dynamic begins to shift.

Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali · 1955

Pather Panchali

MovieDramaHistory

Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his wife, Sarbojaya, looks after her rebellious daughter, Durga, and her young son, Apu, as well as Harihar's elderly aunt Indir. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them.

Two

MovieDramaFamily

This short film shows an encounter, through a series of games, between a street child from the shantytowns and a child of a rich family, stationed at his window. The film has no dialogue and the action moves through the attempts at one-upmanship evident in their successive display of their toys. Their rivalry (a kite shot down by a toy rifle, for example) concludes with the opposition between the world of noise (the toys inside the house) and that of music (the street child's flute). Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2006.

Jigarthanda DoubleX

Jigarthanda DoubleX · 2023

Jigarthanda DoubleX

MovieActionDrama

A notorious gangster is incited to transform into a film hero and opts for a filmmaker and their project descends into a scenario they had never anticipated.

Three Daughters

Three Daughters · 1961

Three Daughters

MovieComedyDrama

Three stories with three central female characters linking the stories together. The first one concerns an orphan girl who grows attached to the postmaster she is caring for after he teaches her to read and write. The second one is a supernatural tale about a woman obsessed with the jewels her husband buys for her. The final one follows a young man who falls for an unconventional girl from his new village instead of his arranged bride, the daughter of a respectable family.

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne · 1969

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

MovieComedyMusic

Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne are banished from their respective villages for being bad musicians. However, with their skills, they succeed in pleasing the king of ghosts who grants them three boons. How will they succeed in preventing the war between Halla and Shundi which is looming large?

The Music Room

The Music Room · 1958

MovieDramaMusic

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.

Devi

A devout upper-class Hindu has a vision in a dream that his daughter-in-law is the human incarnation of the Goddess Kali and begins worshipping her.

Charulata

Charulata · 1964

MovieDramaRomance

In 1870s India, Charulata is an isolated, artistically inclined woman who sees little of her busy journalist husband, Bhupati. Realizing that his wife is alienated and unhappy, he convinces his cousin, Amal, to spend time with Charulata and nourish her creative impulses. Amal is a fledgling poet himself, and he and Charulata bond over their shared love of art.

Ahalya

Ahalya, set as a modern-day thriller, is an ode to a legend from Ramayana. The 14-minute-long film replays the deadly game of Gods, spinning a web of intrigue, seduction, desire and mystery between Gods and Apsaras. Ahalya is a deadly game you can’t escape.

The Adversary

The Adversary · 1970

Siddhartho Chowdhury, a brilliant young medical student, is forced to leave his studies after his father's sudden demise. He is forced to navigate the high unemployment rate and the communist socio-political climate of 1960s Calcutta in search of a job.

An Enemy of the People

An Enemy of the People · 1990

An Enemy of the People

Ashoke Gupta is an idealistic doctor working in a town near Calcutta. He discovers that the water at a popular temple is the source of an outbreak of typhoid and hepatitis. In order to save lives, he risks his career to try and call attention to this polluted water source, while a local group of building contractors attempt to discredit him in various ways.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter