De gevangenen van Buñuel

For those unfamiliar with the topic of this documentary:

The humorous, skillful and atheist provocateur Luis Bunuel had made "Un chien andalou" (together with Dali) and "L'age d'or", maybe the two most famous surrealist films ever, when a friend promised that, if he'd ever win money in the lottery, he'd finance a film Bunuel wanted to make about a certain poor region in Spain: Las Hurdes. As it must happen in tales of that kind, the friend naturally did win in the lottery, and Bunuel shot "Las Hurdes", also known as "Terre sans pain"--showing the poverty, the diseases and the famine in this region, enlarged by highly pathetic music, a tragic commentary seeming rather hypocritical sometimes, and some scenes that arouse the suspicion of being forced to happen for the camera alone.

Audience reactions differ, some are moved and shocked by the presented situation, some laugh about what could be regarded as a parody.

Can one reduce "Terre sans pain" so easily to a documentary (about a serious topic needing more attention at its time) or a sarcastic parody (as one would expect of a disrespectful surrealist like Bunuel)?

Ramon Gieling's documentary tries to explore this question. Not by summing up quotes from Bunuel's autobiography, nor by interviewing old friends of Bunuel's and film scholars, or by elaborating on style and structure of the film. No, Gieling instead re-visits Las Hurdes--to compare the film's vision with the reality of today, and to ask the people of the region about their opinions and their memories of the production.

Las Hurdas looks much better now, lighter and more colourful, and the people much less troubled, though the region surely is not very wealthy. The local opinions on "Terre sans pain" range from total disapproval to acknowledgement and critical praise.

The situation was heavily exaggerated by Bunuel, and the reputation of Las Hurdes is still low thanks to him, say some; tourists would only come here to see Bunuel's version, and the media would still depict this place as uncivilized, underdeveloped. The inhabitants comment on inventions and fake scenes (though the exact memories about them differ from person to person): An old man remembers how Bunuel filmed some children and put a pig next to them to make the place look dirty and poor. A child seemed to have died of some epidemic in the film, but was still very much alive afterwards; and while they walk the familiar sites known from "Terre sans pain", old men tell how Bunuel killed donkeys in brutal ways, presenting their various deaths as caused by a murderous environment. A picture of Bunuel joyfully holding a gun to shoot one of the donkeys illustrates his delight in creating a sensational trick on the audience.

Others say that life really was as hard as he depicted it, that maybe all the exaggeration was necessary to get a proper reaction. And although the inhabitants are being described (by themselves) as refusing any discussion on this, they're talking quite openly about past and present problems, local conservatism and their personal feelings on "Terre sans pain".

People of Las Hurdes expressing their own views and feelings are missing in Bunuel's film, so Gieling not only lets them reveal possible reasons for their attitudes, but also gives Las Hurdes a more human and personal face. This context also offers one of the most moving moments: An old woman that "played" the mother of a seemingly dead child (pure invention on Bunuel's part) sits quietly in front of the camera, having forgotten her past (and so "Terre sans pain"), staring around curiously, while her appearance in the film is shown for comparison.

"De Gevangenen van Bunuel" reflects on its own distortions when documenting Las Hurdes (also a possible interpretation for "Terre sans pain"):

Jump cuts in almost every shot keep the viewer aware of the manipulation through montage. A welcome at the mayor's office seems to fail during the first take and must be repeated at once. Beautifully-composed music by Micha Molthoff challenges the score of "Terre sans pain". Long and steady camera movements make a hunt look as if some rehearsing would have been necessary before; and the bloody slaughtering of a pig is presented with a violent passion that Bunuel could have liked.

Ramon Gieling does not try to hide himself behind the camera, shows his own influence and personality. He starts the documentary by following his son to school after a long scene depicting the construction of a Bunuel bust that he wants to give as a present to a mayor of Las Hurdes. Finally he confronts the local people with the film by organizing a screening of "Terre sans pain" in the centre of one of the villages (actually the first public screening of any film in this region), attended by enemies and friends of Bunuel's film alike, observing closely their reactions.