Simon of the Desert

The funding for this gleefully blasphemous feature was pulled before the film was completed, resulting in an abrupt and not quite satisfying ending. Still, what's left is a little slice of heaven (pun intended) with some of its directors most direct and powerful attacks on the clergy he made a career of hating. Bunuel here presents us with an ascetic so self-involved that he declines to embrace his own mother; he restores the hands to a peasant who immediately uses them to strike his own child; he prides himself on eating only lettuce, mentioning it often and to anyone who will listen. "Simon" is a good-looking film, too, with a visual landscape that echoes its protagonist's austerity and startling surreal touches -- such as a coffin that slides through the desert scrub to the base of the column atop which Simon spends his years -- that recall the glory days of "L'Age d'Or." It might have been a masterpiece had Bunuel been allowed the full scope of his vision; it's a major film as is. 8/10

The strange and unforgettable conclusion of Luis Bunuel's classic Simon of the Desert sneaks up on viewers so quickly that most react with some kind of surprise or shock that the film has come to an end. Only forty-five minutes, the story of the pillar-perching ascetic defies the conventions of the short film format and unfolds like a fully developed feature. Laugh-out-loud hilarious, the movie bursts with inventive visual gags and clever writing, along with Bunuel's trademark knack for knockout surrealist images. But it doesn't stop there; Bunuel's direction is a tour-de-force (I love the dizzying angles from Simon's lofty elevation intercut with the views of the people below).

This surrealist film is based on St. Simon Stylites who lived circa A. D. 400 . He was a ragged ascetic (well played by a bearded Claudio Brook) who spent thirty-seven years atop a seventy-foot pillar preaching to Christian flocks and avoiding temptation . As he is tempted by the devil (a beauty Silvia Pinal) under various forms.

This rare and weird movie is largely considered a Luis Buñuel's masterpiece . It's a comical parable about a tattered anchorite with some humor and hilarious criticism to Catholic Church . After returning his native country , Spain , by making 'Viridiana' played by Fernando Rey, Silvia Pinal , but this film was pursued by the national censorship and really prohibited on the grounds of blasphemy , then Buñuel with his screenwriter Julio Alejandro went back Mexico where realized in low budget 'Simon of the desert' and produced by Gustavo Alatriste . It contains good and atmospheric cinematography by excellent Mexican cameraman Gabriel Figueroa . Religious music , including a pilgrim hymn and , of course , 'the drums of Calanda' sounds , Luis Buñuel's location of birth . This movie won deservedly the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Venice Film Festival . This is a nice strange story for Luis Buñuel aficionados, being deemed by some reviewers as one of the best short film - forty minutes- ever made . Rating : Above average , worthwhile watching.

Simon of the Desert (1965)

**** (out of 4)

Bizarre "religious" film from Luis Bunuel is one of the best I've seen from him. Simon (Claudio Brook) climbs a column in the desert to be closer to God but soon has Satan try to tempt him with earthly pleasures. To give anything else away would ruin a few twists and turns along the way but I was pleasantly surprised with this little short. Bunuel has become one of my favorite directors but I find watching his religious films to be very frustrating because he either goes over the top with what I find stupid or I feel he spends way too much time trying to make points but everything here worked pretty well with me. The black humor mixed in with the messages was a great touch and Bunuel did a terrific job with all the temptation scenes. The scene with the nude woman trying to tempt Simon was brilliantly done.

After being forced to self-exile by the Spanish Civil War, Spaniard director Luis Buñuel moved to Mexico, and found in the country's struggling film industry the freedom he had so long desired. In the late 50s, and after a decade of making some of the best Mexican movies ever mad, he met Gustavo Alatriste and his wife, actress Silvia Pinal. Alatriste was very interested in Buñuel's cinema and decided to produce Buñuel's movies with Pinal as main actress. This partnership gave Buñuel even more freedom than before, and resulted in three of the most interesting and controversial films of his career. "Viridiana", "El Ángel Extreminador" and this movie, "Simón del Desierto", form a trilogy where Buñuel criticizes mercilessly, but with humor, the hypocrisy of the high society, the government and of course, religion.

Simón (Claudio Brook) is a deep religious man who decided that to be closer to God, he should remain alone in a column, living as an hermit practicing asceticism, in order to escape from the world's temptations. Soon Simón becomes to be regarded as a Saint, and people from all over the region come to hear him speak, and witness his miracles. Satan (Silvia Pinal) visits Simón too, in an attempt to tempt Simón with the earthly pleasures that Simón has decided to leave behind. However, the Devil is probably the lesser of Simón's problems, as his own elitist position as an outsider makes him to discover the truth behind organized religion, and so he begins question the nature of what he does, and more importantly, what he believes.

Written by Luis Buñuel and Julio Alejandro (Buñuel's collaborator in "Nazarín" and "Viridiana"), the story of "Simón del Desierto" is loosely based on the real life story of Saint Simeon Stylites, a monk who like Simón, decided to spent his days at the top of a pillar. "Simon del Desierto" parodies St. Simeon's story in a wonderful satire about the way Saints are seen and venerated by the religious people. Using the character of Simón, Buñuel explores the human side of religion and with a good dose of humor, he completely exposes his views on it, making a sharp criticism not on religion itself, but on religious organizations and their blind and passive followers, who in Buñuel's eyes, become more and more dehumanized the closer they get to God.

In many ways, "Simón del Desierto" works like a slow and fascinating descend into one of Buñuel's surreal nightmares. With a beautiful cinematography by the legendary Gabriel Figueroa, the movie feels initially as a real biopic of the Saint's life, but the portrait of dignity that Buñuel seems to be creating with Simon soon discovers itself as an absurd, as Simón's exaggerated Holiness proves to be as corrupting as the Devil's temptations, and through a series of visions Buñuel breaks the realistic tone and smoothly turns the movie into a surreal madness apparently mimicking the dehumanization of the Saint. The madness concludes in one of Buñuel's most strange finales ever, inviting the audience to make their own conclusions about the movie, and about sainthood.

Claudio Brook and Silvia Pinal are basically the main cast of the film, and their work together is really amazing. A very underrated actor, Brook is very convincing, and very funny too, making Buñuel's character come to life and carrying the film with natural ease and powerful presence. Brook delivers his lines with dignity and power, as if he was really being an actor in a biography of the Saint (Ironically, he would play Jesus in two films after "Simón del Desierto"). Silvia Pinal is very good as the Devil, although not as impressive as she was in "Viridiana", she delivers an excellent performance as the erotic representation of Satan. The supporting cast is very small, and have very limited screen time, but overall they do a good job. Jesús Fernández shines in the small role of a dwarf goatherd who seems to know more than what his humble looks tell.

The movie is probably one of the most interesting films of Buñuel, but at the same time one of the most troubled, as the low budget couldn't allow him better production values. But the worse flaw occurred because in a very unfortunate incident, Alatriste was unable to complete the funding of Buñuel's film, so the director was forced to stop the film's production and make a quick ending. The bizarre finale of the movie is very simplistic and feels horribly rushed; breaking the pace of the story in a very bad way. Still, even when the rushed ending damages the movie a lot, at least it gives an idea of what Buñuel's intentions with the film were.

While the movie was never completed the way Buñuel desired, "Simón del Desierto" is equally as good as the master's better known films, and it also offers the chance to understand the ideology of the man known as "master of surrealism". The excellent performances, Figueroa's beautiful photography and Buñuel's superb direction are definitely the ingredients for a masterpiece, and this modest movie, incomplete as it is, it's definitely one. 8/10