Los Olvidados (1950)

……………………………………………………………………..

Los Olvidados Movie Review

Los Olvidados is a 1950 Mexican crime film directed by Luis Bunuel. It is a very good and important film, but not without its flaws.

The film is a depiction of poverty and crime in the slums of Mexico City and it focuses on children in particular. I found its subject matter to be very important and it is a great history lesson as the film is realistic and depicts everything as it really was back in the day in Mexico. Also, this is one of the rare crime films that I actually enjoyed as the film isn’t violent and it is pretty engaging to watch.

……………………………………………………………………..

“Just now you remember that I’m your son“

……………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………..

Pedro’s character is a deeply tragic one. Everything about him is heartbreaking from his relationship with his mother to his reluctant involvement in a crime to his evident doom. His mother is also an interesting character and of course El Jaibo is despicable, but well depicted. The acting is also pretty good and all of the children gave quite stupendous performances for their age.

Los Olvidados is far from a great movie and now is the perfect time to pinpoint some of its obvious flaws. Let’s just say that this is the type of film that is great in substance, but lacks in style which is weird having in mind the director here is Luis Bunuel. But unfortunately the technical aspects are pretty mediocre and they significantly reduced the quality of this movie.

The cinematography is weak, there isn’t anything remotely memorable here in terms of the imagery and the directing from Luis Bunuel is also quite troublesome. I particularly fault his willingness to go into surrealist territory here. The film is realistic for the most part, but there are some scenes including that prolonged dream sequence that are surrealist in the director’s typical fashion. But the problem is that this movie did not need any of that and that just becomes a bit of a distraction. Those scenes felt like they belong in an entirely different movie.

……………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………..

But thankfully the editing in Los Olvidados is really good and the film is entertaining from beginning to end and its three act structure is well executed. The tone is suitably serious and mature and the dialogue is very good and grounded in reality. I would have liked a more emotional approach, but the movie still has its tragic tone. And I liked its almost documentary like approach as it is essential in painting this real and important issue. Overall, it isn’t great, but I still liked it a lot.

Los Olvidados is far from a great movie as the technical aspects are rather mediocre and Bunuel’s direction is troublesome as his inclusion of surrealist scenes was entirely unnecessary for this movie, but this is still an important and very realistic crime film with an engaging, well crafted plot, realistic characters, good acting and such a tragic ending.

My Rating – 4

……………………………………………………………………..