The Cloud-Capped Star [Criterion Collection] [DVD] [1960]

One of Indian director Ritwik Ghatak's most acclaimed films was this rural drama - a meditation on poverty and familial dysfunction set in a Calcutta refugee village. Supriya Choudhury stars as Nita, a physically attractive, intelligent and diligent young woman who demonstrates extreme loyalty to her family. While walking through the square of the local market, she accidentally breaks her sandal. In lieu of spending her monthly salary on another pair of shoes, she continues to walk barefoot on the gravel. When she arrives back home, her lazy brother Shankar (Anil Chatterjee) finds her reading a letter from a boyfriend, Sanat (Niranjan Ray), then whips it out of her hand and begins to hassle her for spending money. At the same time, the youngest children in the family, Mantu (Dwiju Bhawal) and Gita (Gita Ghatak), beg their impoverished mother (Gita De) for new clothing. When their requests fail, they begin pressuring Nita to help them.~Nathan Southern