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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Buñuel., October 11, 2003
This review is from: Los Olvidados [VHS] (VHS Tape)
"Los Olvidados" remains a landmark in not only Hispanic cinema, but world cinema as a whole. It marked the return of Luis Buñuel after two decades of obscurity and proved he was more than just a memorable name from the Surrealist movement in Europe. "Los Olvidados" is gritty, surreal storytelling at it's finest, Buñuel masterfully mixes the storytelling with dreamlike touches to create a film that is unforgettable and timeless. The film follows the lives of children living in the poverty-stricken areas of Mexico City, there is little hope in their daily living for social advancement and they resort to crime to fulfill their needs. A murder for revenge eventually creates friction between two friends and sends them on a dangerous odyssey. "Los Olvidados" is a striking social commentary, even more so today because anyone who has lived or traveled through Latin America can fully relate to the issues the film explores. Consider that the youth culture in "Los Olvidados," made in 1950, is no different from that which is shown in a more recent, equally great Mexican film, "Amores Perros," made in 2000. Buñuel paints here on a canvas of love, death, revenge, lust and murder.The images are rich and the writing is on par with the visuals, especially since Buñuel takes what would in other circumstances be seen as simple storytelling and turns it into a work full of great depth and visceral energy, there is even a hypnotic dream sequence that reminds us that Buñuel was a surrealist first and foremost in his filmmaking. When the movie first came out it won him a Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival and played for months in Paris and London, influencing many a young aspiring filmmakers, including Roman Polanski who remembers seeing the film as true literature. "Los Olvidados" has survived the test of time, and like all great movies it only grows better with age.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece., July 12, 2000
This review is from: Los Olvidados [VHS] (VHS Tape)
"Los Olvidados" is a masterpiece of a film, a true work of graphic realism in the cinema. Of course it is, it being directed by the great genius Luis Bunuel. "Los Olvidados" is a great film, richly photographed with a gritty, graphic feeling and superbly written and acted. Bunuel takes deep into the world of poverty and the consequences and events surrounding children living on the streets. It is not just an examination of juvenile crime in Mexico, but on juvenile crime as a whole. It examines what happens to people who grow without a good home, education or parents. "Los Olvidados" can also be seen as a study of the dark side of man. Bunuel looks at reality unblinkingly and makes a movie that can be hypnotic at times. It is beautiful, in a dark way. The realism can be felt vibrating off the screen and "Los Olvidados" can take on the disturbing feeling of a street documentary equipped with murder, lust and violence. Bunuel also adds a touch of eroticism that elevates the material. "Los Olvidados" is a slice of true cinema, Mexican or otherwise. It displays the masterful talent that Bunuel possessed for realism in the cinema. This is an effective, unforgettable movie. One of the greatest works ever made in Latin cinema.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Plight of the hopeless, August 22, 2005
This review is from: Los Olvidados [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Undoubtedly Los Olvidados is a significant standard of comparison for all films dealing with the cruelty and despair of life at its most despairing. Bunuel is a genius to capture such horror in the form of realism, with just a touch of surrealism with the dream scene. However, realism overall seems to become surrealism in that what occurs is difficult to stomach, difficult to imagine. It's easier of course to watch this with the typical detachment that has become a part of our lives; the challenge however is to watch it and let it hit and hit hard because it is reality and more so now than ever before.
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