Days and Nights in the Forest

Beautifully shot and acted, it's probably Ray's masterpiece.

Ray's language of cinema is a kind of miraculous vernacular, all his own. It has mystery, eroticism and delight.

By turns funny, sad and romantic, it's a work that confirms Ray's formidable reputation as a world film maker of the highest order.

The film is a teeming, turbulent, confrontational meld of emotion and observation, placing the eruptive pressure of societal conflict amid the seeming trivia of social life.

A major film by one of the great film artists.

Packed with cultural references and sly satire, this is also a hugely entertaining comic romp.

Whatever virtues Ray's defenders may claim for him, I find it difficult to get very far beyond the sylistic mess of this film. Ray's style ranges from half-baked artsiness to total artlessness without managing to find any real art in the transitions. [12 Apr 1973, p.91]