Subida al cielo

Luis Buñuel, I believe, is one of the ten greatest directors of all time, and "Mexican Bus Ride" is a perfect example of why; not because it's one of his best films, but because it's one of his worst films, and yet it's wonderful. It's certainly not Buñuel at his most brilliant, but it may be something near Buñuel at his most delightful. This was a joyous viewing experience for me.

Buñuel began his filmmaking career in Paris, directing a short film in 1929 called "Un chien andalou", which was co-written by none other than the great surrealist painter, Salvador Dalí. It wasn't exactly the first film of its kind — René Clair's "Entr'acte" in 1924 was stylistically similar — but it was extremely audacious and a milestone in the attempt to bring true, uncompromising art to the cinema.

Buñuel and Dalí collaborated on one more film, "L'age d'or", in 1930, which was followed by Buñuel's documentary short, "Las Hurdes" (a.k.a "Land Without Bread"), in 1933. That marked the end of this early period in Buñuel's career. He would not make any more films for fourteen years.

In order to break back into the film industry, Buñuel had to accept a commercial, mainstream project that was, artistically speaking, beneath his dignity. And so his fourteen-year hiatus came to an end with the release of the 1947 Mexican film, "Gran Casino". It was the only truly bad Buñuel film I've ever seen, but it served its purpose: It got Buñuel on his feet again, and the subsequent run of Mexican pictures that Buñuel directed was fantastic.

The most famous films from this Mexican period in Buñuel's career came at the end of it, in the early '60s: "Viridiana", "The Exterminating Angel", and "Simon of the Desert", after which he returned to making mostly French films to finish his career, and his final three films — "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", "The Phantom of Liberty", and "That Obscure Object of Desire" — are perhaps his greatest masterpieces.

Still, the early films from Buñuel's Mexican period are a true pleasure to watch. Amongst them, we have more serious films like "Los olvidados", an uncharacteristic exercise in social realism, and "Susana", which in many ways was an early dress rehearsal for "Tristana". Those are probably the best films out of his first half-dozen or so Mexican films, but the others, excluding "Gran Casino", are very enjoyable films. They were lighthearted comedies, with varying degrees of drama. They include "The Great Madcap", "Daughter of Deceit", and "Mexican Bus Ride". While none of these are likely to be considered truly great films, and certainly aren't among Buñuel's best, they occupy a very special place in his body of work for me. I'll always have a soft spot for these films.

Of these six films that began his Mexican period, "Susana" was undoubtedly the Buñuel film that reminds us most of the later work that would ultimately define his identity as a filmmaker. It worked on one of Buñuel's most recurring themes: the sexual frustration — the full-fledged torment — that a man can undergo at the hands of a beautiful woman who withholds intimacy. "Tristana" and "That Obscure Object of Desire" are the best-known examples of this, but it's a constant theme throughout Buñuel's body of work, and we see it here in "Mexican Bus Ride", albeit very watered down compared to his later work.

In addition to the marvelous entertainment value of the film, "Mexican Bus Ride" stood out to me as being the first Buñuel feature to really include all of his hallmarks as a filmmaker — all of the elements of the cinema that would eventually constitute his essence as an artist. Granted, they all came in very small doses in this film — they were very unrefined at this point, and none of them fully developed — but they're present, nonetheless.

Buñuel was known as "the father of cinematic surrealism". His oneiric tone and surrealist mode of filmmaking were essential facets of his cinema, and he delivers a great dream sequence in "Mexican Bus Ride". It comes about halfway into the film, and it only lasts about five minutes, but it was a welcome addition to an already very enjoyable viewing experience.

Buñuel was also known as "the scourge of the bourgeoisie". He went beyond the requisite for a leftist filmmaker when he attacked both bourgeois society and bourgeois individuals themselves, generally through unrelenting, scathing satire. This aspect of his cinema isn't by any means present in "Mexican Bus Ride" to the extent that it is in, say, "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", but it's there, and it's not difficult to detect.

Surrealism, female sexual dominance, and satirization of the bourgeoisie — these, to me, are the three pillars of Luis Buñuel's cinema, and the most fascinating aspect of his films is observing the various ways in which he's able to intertwine these themes. In "Mexican Bus Ride", all three are somewhat diluted, as Buñuel hadn't yet fully discovered his identity as a filmmaker (or hadn't yet been allowed to fully express it, perhaps), but they're present, together, for the first time in his career in Mexico. Buñuel certainly wasn't able to be as extreme here in his expression of his ideas as he would be later on, and he goes light enough on these themes that, if we weren't looking for them — that is to say, if we didn't know Buñuel so well — we might not attach much significance to them. But for the veteran Buñuel fan, it's all there.

"Mexican Bus Ride" is a legitimately good film. With all his outright brilliance, I often forget how downright fun Buñuel could be, and this film was a great reminder.

RATING: 7.33 out of 10 stars

Okay Mexican era Bunuel about a young man traveling by bus to his dying mother's hometown where she has a will on record. If he doesn't recover that will and have his mother put her thumbprint on it, his oldest brother, a very greedy man, will have the legal right to divide the property amongst the family. Most of the film is about the bus ride and the adventures the people on the bus have. There are some very nice scenes and touches, but it doesn't rank as one of Bunuel's strongest. It does, however, contain probably the best surreal sequence of any of his Mexican films. I haven't seen them all, so maybe I should just say a more prominent surreal sequence than his more famous Mexican films, i.e., Los Olvidados, El, or Nazarin (not counting anything he made after he returned to Mexico from Spain after Viridiana, i.e., The Exterminating Angel and Simon of the Desert, both of which are more "pure" surrealism).

Subida al cielo is a messy little story probably about the distractions and small miracles happening on everybody's way to heaven. It is short and seems simple, but there are sometimes strange things happening: has anybody the strength to go straight? If one does really go straight, one probably do not even have dreams. Dreams, wishful thinking and miracles like the improbable solution (by a little girl) for getting the bus out of the river with an ox instead of a tractor and the small miracle of the two vehicles that for no apparent reason suddenly CAN pass each other on the narrow path after a short meeting. Furthermore, Buñuel incorporates a few modest but funny dream sequences to emphasize that people (secretly) can think of other things, while they are on their certain way to heaven (the righteous path?). The English title 'Mexican Bus Ride' applies very well I guess: the whole is kind of low profile (probably also low budget :)

The acting is ok, but I never really got into the story, because the editing isn't good and there is no convincing mood to get into, although Buñuel uses some music in this movie. Miniature cars and sets make it fun to watch, but also do not convince. The movie feels more like an exercise than as a message from the heart, but I would like to see it again some time. 5/10

Even with the economic restrictions of his Mexican exile, Luis Buñuel proved he could turn an otherwise unassuming project into a signature film of unique wit and style. The simple story follows an unlucky young bridegroom on a long, fantastic journey by bus across the country to visit his ailing mother. With his mind distracted by thoughts of her death, he encounters on his trip a multitude of life, while the bus and its passengers careen from one diversion to another. Every encounter is underscored by the director's distinctive brand of deadpan absurdity: a peg-legged gentleman stuck in a mud puddle; a man selling mail-order chickens; a detour for a birthday fiesta thrown by the driver's mother. There's even a dream sequence loaded with the same, crazy Freudian symbolism left over from Buñuel's earlier collaborations with Salvador Dali. In its own quiet way the film has to be considered an underrated classic, directed with a surplus of humor and humanity by an acknowledged master.

As noted by others, this is not top notch Bunuel but it has much charm and it is as if the director is more interested in the Mexicans and their way of life than in bringing out any clever cinema tricks. Having said that the fantasy/dream sequence is excellent and the apple peel that surely represents the umbilical cord both amusing and disturbing at the same time. For it is true to say that through the course of the terrifying bus journey, central to the film, we do have the elements of birth, marriage and death. Plus, animals, music, singing and seduction. Somebody has described the bus driver as 'silly' but it occurs to me that although he seems ready to give up his bus driving upon almost any pretext, he is one of the only travellers who is not dishonest. We have the aspiring politician, not sure about the hen man, there's the scheming and beautiful sex interest, and even our hero desperate to help his dying mother get a will written , is more than a little driven by self interest. So although a wonderfully sunny and joyful film, with that good feeling that all are at one, it is far from as simple as that and just beneath the surface, surely that wily old Bunuel is having more than a little dig