Wow is this film good. I’m just discovering Luis Buñuel’s work and I’m quickly becoming a fan. This film, (also known as THE YOUNG AND THE DAMNED) made in 1950 and released in the U.S. in 1952, takes a look at young street gangs in Mexico City. This film came in a period of Buñuel’s career after he was kicked out of the European scene for making a film deemed sacrilegious and the beginning of his work in Mexico.
The gritty black and white photography and the 1950s setting made me think of those “educational” films of the period that warned kids off drugs or sex. The film’s theme of street gangs adds to the comparison. However, Buñuel is too good of a director to make a preachy piece of propaganda. He was never shy to court controversy in the name of brutal realism and this film doesn’t shy away from the real hardships of ghetto life.
Pedro (Alfonso Mejía) runs in the street with a gang much to the dismay of his mother (Estela Inda), who isn’t an angel herself. El Jaibo (Roberto Cobo) is an older thug who has run away from a reform school. He’s bad news and gets Pedro wrapped up in a murder. Pedro struggles after the murder to go straight, but his past keeps creeping up on him. Other key characters include the blind medicine man Don Carmelo (Miguel Inclán), the lost boy nicknamed Big Eyes (Mário Ramírez) and the young desire of the gang members Meche (Alma Delia Fuentes).
The film brilliantly displays how the poverty and violence of the streets can turn the most goodhearted of boys to violence. The performances serve the purpose of the film, but its Buñuel’s skilled direction that makes the film emotionally resonant and artistically powerful. Take for instance a scene where Pedro’s mother says that her husband died 5 years ago and then Buñuel cuts to her infant child. That single shot says mountains about Pedro’s mother and her past without going into lengthy dialogue.
Buñuel also worked on the amazing screenplay with Luis Alcoriza. There’s an amazing sequence between Pedro and his mother that is very dramatically powerful because each character is thinking one thing while the other is thinking something completely different. The interaction between them isn’t just a misunderstanding, but underlies the core of who the characters are and what they want to become. The conclusion of the film is sad and unexpected. The final shot of the film is pure perfection and will not be forgotten once seen.
Why this masterwork is not on DVD is beyond me. If you can find this film on video, TV or a revival screening just see it. This is the kind of film that would still be provocative today, yet it was made more than 50 years ago.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
