It may be flawed slightly and only deserve a 9 1/2 but there are many wonderful and very funny things going on here: the way the austere atmosphere established at the beginning soon shows it's actual absurd nature, the weird atonal renderings of the religious tunes, the sudden appearances and transformations of the Devil, the gags - like the coffin swiftly rolling across a field to the accompaniment of modern military drumbeats (fine counterpoint to the tone of religious piety), the sly dialog. In answer to some peasants seeking guidance in his saintliness, Simone responds "Oh ye, poor of body and mind...".
Gabriel Figueroa was one of the cinema's greatest cameramen and his work shines here. The high angle views from the pedestal give a great visual thrust to both Simon's high-mindedness and lofty contempt. The clarity and austerity of the black and white shooting cozily underscore a lucid exposition on the futility of asceticism.
The film starts out looking like a serious paean set in the 1400's, with period costumes and music; and ends mid 20th century, in a post beatnik dive . The transforming cut takes us straight to the the denouement. In it's abruptness and the length of time leaped through, it is maybe one of the most ambitious cuts ever effected in film (along with Kubrick's jump at the beginning of "Space Oddysey" from the tossed bone/weapon in ape-ancestor times to the gracefully waltzing space ship in 2001). Some see this as a defect made necessary by the sudden disappearance of financial support. Yet great directors know how to use the inherent flexibility of film to manipulate the spectator in time and space, to bolster their art, even when things turn out unexpectedly.
Though it might have been better at full feature length, Bunuel did a wonderful job with the sudden ending. Even if it is jarring, the film still feels quite complete. Perhaps it's even a blessing - whoops, no pun intended - especially today in this era of films that last two plus hours followed by a half hour of credits. (Why not make a film about the making of the credits on a ultra long movie like "lord of the rings"?) Maybe the abruptness even reinforces the message of futility in that the devil wins earlier than one usually expects in mainstream length movies. Recall that other Bunuel works are seldom overly long and a few of his early films were also quite short (L'Age d'Or, 60 minutes, Tierra sin Pan, 30m, Chien Andalou, 16 m), yet very effective.
As mentioned in a few posts, Bunuel, and especially this film (also Milky Way and Phantom of Liberty) is without question an important inspiration for the Monty Python anti-clerical themes. While Python, which is dry British made-for-TV shtick, can be quite funny in its way, Bunuel's work is far richer in visual style, imagination and execution. It is some of the most intelligent and satisfying filmaking one can see.
That Simone's fall is represented by a trip to a 60's disco-tech may not necessarily mean that the disco symbolizes sin. It may instead perhaps be telling us that even if we don't have many ascetics anymore, modern taste can be so dreadful that we have our own hell on earth. Really too bad that this little gem is so hard to find, when we can easily have high quality digital clones of many overlong monstrosities.
For those who see this film, or Bunuel, as trivial, overrated or pretentious, perhaps, like Simone, you too excrete dryly.
Gabriel Figueroa was one of the cinema's greatest cameramen and his work shines here. The high angle views from the pedestal give a great visual thrust to both Simon's high-mindedness and lofty contempt. The clarity and austerity of the black and white shooting cozily underscore a lucid exposition on the futility of asceticism.
The film starts out looking like a serious paean set in the 1400's, with period costumes and music; and ends mid 20th century, in a post beatnik dive . The transforming cut takes us straight to the the denouement. In it's abruptness and the length of time leaped through, it is maybe one of the most ambitious cuts ever effected in film (along with Kubrick's jump at the beginning of "Space Oddysey" from the tossed bone/weapon in ape-ancestor times to the gracefully waltzing space ship in 2001). Some see this as a defect made necessary by the sudden disappearance of financial support. Yet great directors know how to use the inherent flexibility of film to manipulate the spectator in time and space, to bolster their art, even when things turn out unexpectedly.
Though it might have been better at full feature length, Bunuel did a wonderful job with the sudden ending. Even if it is jarring, the film still feels quite complete. Perhaps it's even a blessing - whoops, no pun intended - especially today in this era of films that last two plus hours followed by a half hour of credits. (Why not make a film about the making of the credits on a ultra long movie like "lord of the rings"?) Maybe the abruptness even reinforces the message of futility in that the devil wins earlier than one usually expects in mainstream length movies. Recall that other Bunuel works are seldom overly long and a few of his early films were also quite short (L'Age d'Or, 60 minutes, Tierra sin Pan, 30m, Chien Andalou, 16 m), yet very effective.
As mentioned in a few posts, Bunuel, and especially this film (also Milky Way and Phantom of Liberty) is without question an important inspiration for the Monty Python anti-clerical themes. While Python, which is dry British made-for-TV shtick, can be quite funny in its way, Bunuel's work is far richer in visual style, imagination and execution. It is some of the most intelligent and satisfying filmaking one can see.
That Simone's fall is represented by a trip to a 60's disco-tech may not necessarily mean that the disco symbolizes sin. It may instead perhaps be telling us that even if we don't have many ascetics anymore, modern taste can be so dreadful that we have our own hell on earth. Really too bad that this little gem is so hard to find, when we can easily have high quality digital clones of many overlong monstrosities.
For those who see this film, or Bunuel, as trivial, overrated or pretentious, perhaps, like Simone, you too excrete dryly.