A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent
and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, and the morals of
young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others...
Labelled as a surrealist, Luis Buñuel startles with this down to earth film that can remind
of the Neo-Realists active at the same time in Italy. Recalling the modern
near-masterpiece of Fernando Meirelles
City of God, Los olvidados was one of the many influences on François Truffaut for his breakthrough film
400 Blows. Genuinely violent and crude, Buñuel’s landmark
of a movie is bleak, dark, and very personal. Instead of romancing the scums
like, let’s say, Slumdog Millionaire,
Buñuel depicts a world where no one is spared and where hope isn't what waits
for you at the corner of every street. He deals with every problem possible and
even the good natured characters have a sense of naivety that in real life
there are no happy endings.
Our two main characters are Jaibo and Pedro. While one
(Jaibo) is a thief and a recently escaped prisoner, the other is a little bum
that follows him but still has something good inside him. However, since he
faces adversity and a complete ignorance from his mother, he is split between
the influence of Jaibo and his will to behave. Illustrated with a superb dream
sequence that shouts Buñuel this situation is well exploited. On the other
side, Jaibo is the representation of bad behaviour and the viewer has no choice
but to hate the disgusting acts of the young man. It is indeed a revolting picture and the fact that the
movie was shown only three days because it shocked the Mexican government can
easily tell that it was not that far from reality. Shot by a recurrent Buñuel
collaborator, Gabriel Figueroa gives
a genuine almost documentary look to the images with his great use of lighting
and shadows.
My first encounter with Buñuel was his masterpiece The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie,
and after I discovered his early surrealist films. Los olvidados might be a little unsettling in his filmography,
while being personal with the dream sequence, the pouring of milk on the legs,
and some sensual elements, every Buñuel enthusiast will get a kick out of it.
During his Mexican exile he made many films that may deserve much attention but
Los olvidados is the pinnacle of his
passage in Central America.
This one has been on my list for awhile. It looks different than his more well known works, and that interests me.
ReplyDeleteYou should watch it. It was on my list for ages and now I'm kicking myself for not having seen it earlier.
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