Simón del desierto

In his Mexican exile during the Spanish War, Luis Buñuel produced some fine films, including this one starring Claudio Brook (Alucarda, The Exterminating Angel) and Silvia Pinal (Viridiana, The Exterminating Angel) as The Devil.

This is a strange film, supposedly based upon the acts of a real saint, about an ascetic who sits atop a tall column in the desert praying, while his mother waits below.

The Devil continues to return to tempt Simon. Seeing the Devil as a woman with large breasts exposed was interesting, and would have temped me.

Simon is finally shown the futility of his penance as the world goes on despite him.

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.

It is to be regretted that the filming of this had to be abandoned but the fact that what we have is the result of less than three weeks shooting is a testament to the skills of Luis Bunuel.

Despite the curtailed form it is still sufficient to enable the director to say what he has to say and to give us a self-contained masterpiece of film-making.

The title character, based upon ascetic Simeon Stylites who spent over three decades on top of a pillar with little or no sustenance will be seen either as an example of saintliness or foolishness but Bunuel, despite his avowed atheism, depicts him as a sympathetic figure whilst saving his customary mockery for those on the ground including the amputee who is not even grateful for having his hands miraculously restored; the dwarf who requests to be given a different blessing to that of his goats and of course the sanctimonious, extremely well-fed priests. One cannot but feel sorry for Simon's mother who still observes him whilst living in a tent despite his having renounced her in favour of God.

Very effective is the camerawork of Gabriel Figueroa who shoots from above and below. The score is suitably sparse and features the traditional Easter drums of Calenda that Bunuel utilised in 'L'Age d'Or'. The role of Simon represents the finest filmic hour of Claudio Brooks.

I have no doubt that Bunuel's feelings towards producer Gustavo Alatriste were mixed but happily for us their collaboration had previously resulted in 'Exterminating Angel' and 'Viridiana' which starred Alatriste's wife at the time, the luscious Silvia Pinal. Not only does the Devil have the best tunes but also the best guises and here her incredibly sexy personifications call to mind Oscar Wilde's "The only way to overcome Temptation is to yield to it"!

Bunuel is on top form here. Although compact this film really packs a punch and is free from the occasional longueurs of some of his full length features. It also confirms an astute critic's observation that Bunuel is as much a Realist as a Surrealist. Granted, the abrupt switch from a Fifth Century arid landscape to a Twentieth Century Manhattan nightclub is less than satisfactory but it is at least an ending of sorts. Needs must when the Devil drives!

This film is maybe one of the best films that Buñuel ever made although not among the most popular. Why? Because the production was shot faster than fast and the money ran out so the film couldn't complete the screenplay and art direction is poor. Besides there is the cultural fact, you need some religious background (Catholic if possible) to understand the irony of the film and the references. Humour differs from drama mainly in it's strong connection with time and environment while the latter is more transcultural and timeless. Buñuel had a deep religious knowledge although he lacked faith. The reason why the rock scene is so is that Buñuel didn't like rock. Sometimes people prefer Buñuel's French films because they look more glamorous, the caracters are more sophisticated and wearing richer clothes. Anyway I think the core of his filmography are his 'hispanic' films and the first ones ('l'age d'or', 'le chien andalou', Él, Los Olvidados, Viridiana, Tristana,...).

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).