The Satyajit Ray Film Wes Anderson Couldn’t Forget
‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ (1970) — about four city men and the forest that unmasks them — arrives at Cannes in 4K, its influence sharper than ever.
When Wes Anderson included a scene featuring a quirky memory game in Asteroid City (2023), it wasn’t just a creative flourish — it evoked Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri, the beloved 1970 Bengali classic. From the earthy color palettes of The Darjeeling Limited (2007) to the episodic narrative structure of The French Dispatch (2021), Ray’s imprint runs deep in Anderson’s oeuvre. But his love for Aranyer Din Ratri runs deeper.
Aranyer Din Ratri is a deceptively simple story about ego and epiphany. Yet, beneath the film’s casual surface is some of Ray’s most sophisticated storytelling.