Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • 3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
    • 3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
    • 3625. Ode To Joy (2019)
    • 3624. One Chance (2013)
    • 3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)
    • 3622. The Polka King (2017)
    • 3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)
    • 3620. Friendzone (2021)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»502. Los Olvidados (1950)

    502. Los Olvidados (1950)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on March 25, 2014 1950, 6 - 7.9, 80-89 mins, Crime, Drama, Mar 14, Mexico, Movies Of 2014, Review
    7.1 Heavy but intriguing
    • Acting 7.1
    • Directing 7.2
    • Story 7.0
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Alfonso Mejía, Roberto Cobo, Estela Inda

    Director: Luis Buñuel

    Running Time: 88 mins


    Los Olvidados (AKA The Young And The Damned) is a Mexican film about the lives of young boys in the slums of Mexico City, and how the violence of others corrupts the morals of one such young boy, little Pedro, sending him into a world of crime and chaos.

    Well, this film is depressing, and pretty brutal as well. It’s a fascinating story that shows the lives of Mexican slumdogs in a very realistic light, and along with a great deal of tension and other story lines, this film can be intriguing to watch, however it isn’t terribly engaging or well-paced, which does often make it a bit boring to watch.

    Starting with the main downsides of this film, I thought that, even for something by Buñuel, the ordering of this was just a little bit off. I understand that his films are normally very surrealist, and therefore a bit of chaos in terms of the setting out of the story is great, but seeing as this film is a look at social realism, that character doesn’t fit at all well.

    The main problem that you’ve got in this story is that it never has any sort of consistent pace. In various scenes, you’ve got a lengthy, slow and partly irrelevant section, and then a rapid-fire, dramatic and more important scene that catches you a little off guard after sitting through the boredom of the preceding scene.

    Now, you could say that that inconsistency of the story does mirror the chaotic lives of the people in the slums shown in this film, and although that is a valid idea, it doesn’t escape the fact that some parts of this film are honestly not at all interesting to watch.

    What I was really impressed by in this film, though, was its representation of the lives of the Mexican slumdogs. I was first surprised by the fact that Buñuel was willing to be so realistic in terms of the plot and his direction, because his work is normally some of the most ridiculously surreal stuff you can get.

    However, here, you do in fact get a fascinating look into the lives of these boys, and how poverty completely corrupts their childhood into becoming all about violence and gang warfare, similar to the themes you find in something like City Of God, so that was very good.

    Along with the main concept of gang warfare in the slums, you get a side story, relating to the relationship between the young Pedro and his mother. It suggest that poverty does not directly corrupt the lives of children, but in fact those of their parents, and following on from that, parents lose care and love for their sons and daughters, forcing the children to resort to crime and thuggery to either get attention or any sense of worth, which they don’t receive from their parents, which I found hugely intriguing.

    Overall, I’ll give this a 7.1, because although it had a fascinating story with intriguing themes, it felt too disordered and often boring to watch.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. Since January 1st, 2013, he has watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    7.1

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    5.3
    January 17, 2022

    3620. Friendzone (2021)

    7.1
    January 10, 2022

    3612. The Lost Daughter (2021)

    8.0
    January 7, 2022

    3609. Licorice Pizza (2021)

    7.2
    January 7, 2022

    3608. Lamb (2021)

    7.4
    December 30, 2021

    3599. The King’s Man (2021)

    6.3
    December 29, 2021

    3598. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

    8.4
    December 28, 2021

    3597. West Side Story (2021)

    6.3
    December 27, 2021

    3596. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

    Recommended Movies
    8.5
    Review
    January 15, 20140

    419. Titanic (1997)

    8.5
    Review
    March 1, 20170

    1677. Logan (2017)

    8.0
    Review
    July 11, 20160

    1414. Ghostbusters (2016)

    8.2
    Review
    October 26, 20150

    1132. Spectre (2015)

    8.2
    Review
    May 25, 20210

    3358. The Mauritanian (2021)

    Popular Posts
    7.1
    January 24, 2022

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8
    January 23, 2022

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9
    January 22, 2022

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    7.4
    January 21, 2022

    3624. One Chance (2013)

    6.3
    January 20, 2022

    3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)

    7.5
    January 19, 2022

    3622. The Polka King (2017)

    6.0
    January 18, 2022

    3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)

    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.