In 1985, Vincent Canby of the New York Times wrote, “No matter what the particular story, no matter what the social-political circumstances of the characters, Satyajit Ray’s cinema is so exquisitely realized that an entire world is evoked from comparatively limited details." Ray’s lyrical style is beautifully displayed in his first and final films. In PATHER PANCHALI, Satyajit Ray’s moving and perceptive debut and the first film in his Apu Trilogy, impoverished priest Harihar Ray leaves his rural Bengal village in hopes for a better life for his family, leaving his wife Sarbojaya, daughter Durga, and son Apu behind. In THE STRANGER, Anila receives a letter from a man claiming to be her long-lost uncle. When he reunites with her family, his visit raises questions about identity and trust. Brimming with life, Ray’s honest and understated career earned him universal acclaim (Akira Kurosawa observed, “Not to have seen the cinema of Satyajit Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.”) and an honorary Academy Award, which the director accepted just a month before his death at age 70. THE STRANGER print courtesy of the Packard Humanities Institute Collection at the Academy Film Archive.