El

I had these words by Alex Epstein in mind when I left the theater. Before I went to watch Él I knew Hitchcock had taken a bit to draw Vertigo. Well, it's not simply a bit.

Buñuel's style is both graceful and low-key. It's a pity this made his work less obviously marvelous to masses. On the other hand if there is something lacking in Él this is a gripping suspense. Something Hitch mastered with his will to enthrall masses. Buñuel's directing is more on the side of actors for us to hesitate between judging the characters and just waiting for more... which is exactly the theme.

Bringing psychological torments to screen is definitely not easy a directing choice . It's a challenge for the upper-crust and I remember Hitchcock's Spellbound was not really convincing, neither was Fritz Lang's Secret beyond the door. Yet each brought something to be chewed for others to experiment.

cold, strange, cruel. like majority of Bunuel films. a window to darkness. and too realistic to be only shadow of fiction. it is a good film. and, in many senses, picture of our time. the ball of paranoia and love as scary, the need to control and menace, the desire and the series of masks, the fragility and the madness as form of control, all is, piece by piece, ingredient of our society. this is the secret for who the movie remains impressive. and for who the genius of its director is basis for an inspired art circle. it is a definition of happiness search. and proof of a splendid science of details. a story. and result of an entomologist observations. is it enough ? sure. in measure to be one of the characters.

Made in 1952, between "Robinson Crusoe" and "Wuthering Heights," this may not be one of Bunuel's major films, but it contains several of his key themes and recurring images, starting with the ceremonial washing and kissing of feet. The film also goes into the politics of submission and domination, the effects of long-term sexual repression, and -- of course -- sewing.

Bunuel understood obsession and was able to convey it on screen like no other director. As irrational as his characters can get (and Francisco gets plenty irrational in this film), Bunuel knows that we all have our hangups which seem normal to us, no matter how grotesque they may look to an outside viewer. (There's a reason why the alternate title for this film is "This Strange Passion.")

Although slightly more melodramatic, I feel this does have the edge over the later, 'Criminal Life of Archibaldo de La Cruz', which covers similar territory with more humour. A gripping and frightening tale of obsession that has a surprisingly large amount of echoes of Hitchcock's later, 'Vertigo' and seemingly that director took the bell tower sequence in its entirety. Still, who cares, great films remain great films, even when their inspiration may be revealed. The ending is low key but we are left in little doubt as to the state of mind of our hero/villain. Great performances help what might have seemed a preposterous tale, ring only too true. Probably best watched after Archibaldo, then the impact will be all the more great.

In Mexico, the wealthy, religious and leery middle-aged Francisco Galván (Arturo de Córdova) is battling in the justice to retrieve the possession of real-estates that belonged to his ancestors in the beginning of the Twentieth Century. When he sees the young Gloria Milalta (Delia Garcés) in the church, he becomes obsessed by the woman, unsuccessfully courting and stalking her. He follows her and sees Gloria with her fiancé and his acquaintance, the engineer Raul Conde, having lunch in a restaurant. Francisco schedules a ball in his mansion and invites Raul and along the night, he seduces Gloria. They get married and in the honeymoon, Gloria discovers that Francisco is virgin and has a sick jealousy for her. Along the years, the emotionally unbalanced Francisco oscillates between a passionate husband and a disturbed paranoid until the day Gloria leaves him and he has a mental breakdown.

"El" is a very simple and melodramatic film of Luis Buñuel about sick jealousy and paranoia. The plot shows the usual trademark of this great director, with religious element and the surrealistic paranoia of the lead character in the church, but is not original like most of his features. Arturo de Córdova and Delia Garcés have stunning performances, giving credibility to their characters. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Alucinado" ("The Hallucinated One")