By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Luis Bunuel
Starring: Alfonso Mejía | Estela Inda | Miguel Inclan | Roberto Cobo
Country: mexico
Year: 1950
Running time: 80
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042804
Thom says: “Expect these further lapses as age rears its ugly head, but I was perusing new offerings on Prime Video and ran across THE YOUNG & THE DAMNED. From the 1950 date I recognized it to be from Bunuel’s Mexican period where he went to live to escape the wrath of the fascist regime of Francisco Franco in Spain. I was nearly certain I had sought out all of Bunuel’s Mexican films but the title didn’t ring a bell. So when I finally sat down to watch it and immediately recognized its Spanish title LOS OLVIDADOS, I recalled I had seen it twice back-in-the-day, so I got involved immediately from frame one of this black&white masterpiece from one of the TOP 10 filmmakers of the 20th Century. Because it has been some 40 years seen I’d last seen it, this mesmerizing viewing raised my appreciation of this dark visionary work. The protagonist is a reform-school escapee (El Jaibo) who stupidly returns to the slum environs of Mexico City to gather together his rag-tag gang and seek retribution on the boy who he thinks initially turned him in. His right-hand-man is a decent enough boy whose mother is abusive and self-centered. As the gang is soon assembled it becomes very clear that Jaibo is the Devil as he and his boys commit one despicable act of pure evil after another to the disenfranchised and crippled members of their deplorable world. That Bunuel is able to find an intrinsic beauty in this squalid environment and uses spectacular dream-like images to emphasize his outstanding artistry raises the bar to the highest level. The overall quality of this unforgettable classic urged me to give it a tie for my favourite film of 1950 along with ALL ABOUT EVE. 5 cats“