La ilusión viaja en tranvía

Illusion Travels by Streetcar is a wild ride of situations that little by little derail to make for a fascinating mess of ridiculous situations. The film manages to be both a celebration of life, a playful retelling of the Christian mythology in a Georges Méliès-esque manner, and a criticism of capitalist companies and their ineffective operation. While neither the most meaningful, nor the most coherent Luis Buñuel movie, it nevertheless is one of the most enjoyable.

To all Buñuel fans that haven't seen this one, let me tell you that the big laugh comes at the end and keeps you laughing for a long time.after the movie is over. Very unusual for Buñuel, but nevertheless very realistic and enjoyable. For the delightful laughing effect he produced at the end, I rated 9.5.

Don't think this is a light film just because it's a comedy made with Mexican actors. There are many layers here and much clever satire not only on the Mexican society of that period but (as always with Bunuel) human behavior in general. The ironic detachment of the director is never so far as to render these characters unrealistic caricatures; far from it, they're as fully real as anything in 'Los Olvidados,' except here things are examined from a much less cynical angle. Comedy is, after all, the flipside of tragedy and if comedy sells better, you only run the risk of being misunderstood by most of the audience on a very superficial level; on a deeper level even the commonest comedy fan implicitly gets the message. This film is in many ways similar in its structure and tone (and on a deeper level even in subject matter) to Alexander Payne's 'Citizen Ruth' and 'Election' or Todd Solondz's 'Welcome to the Dollhouse.' Except here, Bunuel shows less 'cruelty' than in most of his other films; here he tries his hand at an homage to certain great American comedies of the '30s and '40s which managed to use comic misadventures to veil serious messages underneath. The difference is that Bunuel consciously planned and fully intended this result whereas the Americans may have just ended up there unexpectedly and unconsciously.

Ignore the title and opening and closing narration that imply that there is more here than meets the eye, which is a humorous look at life in Mexico City in the early 1950's. Very nice location shooting.

Best scene: the pageant of the fall of Satan and of Adam and Eve.

Best actor: Agustín Isunza as a retired motorman trying to report that the street car has been stolen.

I looked for this movie all over a few years ago when I finally watched it. Another masterpiece by Luis Buñuel even though he had very little freedom, time and budget when making it. There are a few good reviews on this movie in English (unfortunately, I don't speak Spanish). This masterpiece touches on several crucial subjects: transition of the Mexican society to "modernity" from several angles, perhaps most important ones being separating the workforce from what they make (refer to alienation by Karl Marx), aleniating people from their past, their traditions and heritage, in one word their lives, criticizing the stupid bureaucracy in the modernization process (and the upcoming modern life), showing the real aspects of the ordinary people in a surrealist movie, and the list goes on. There scene where the slaughter house workers get on the train (Min 30:59 ) is perhaps the most famous and effective scene of this not so well known Buñuel's masterpiece.