(Subida al cielo)
Country: MEX
Technical: bw 85m
Director: Luis Buñuel
Cast: Lilia Prado, Carmelita González, Esteban Mayo, Manuel Dondé
Synopsis:
In a remote seaside village, a young groom must put off his traditional wedding night on a nearby island to travel to town to fetch the notary: his dying mother wants to change her will so all her estate does not pass to his stepbrothers. Alas, this involves a considerable ride by bus across the mountain passes, the driver is a drunkard, and the town firecracker, Raquel, has her sights set on our hero.
Review:
This amusing curio is another example of how the director overlaid his own thematic concerns on what would otherwise be a conventional domestic drama with folkloric elements. The narrative thread is not merely whether or not Oliverio will make it back before his mother dies, but whether he will succumb to Raquel's incontestable charms: the 'Subida al cielo' is thus more than simply the name given to the treacherous pass of the title! Buñuel inserts miniatures, a fever dream and assorted colourful characters (a politician up for re-election, an inebriate bus driver, but no priest, interestingly), and the film is a fascinating time capsule reminiscent of an old Spanish school text book.
(Subida al cielo)
Country: MEX
Technical: bw 85m
Director: Luis Buñuel
Cast: Lilia Prado, Carmelita González, Esteban Mayo, Manuel Dondé
Synopsis:
In a remote seaside village, a young groom must put off his traditional wedding night on a nearby island to travel to town to fetch the notary: his dying mother wants to change her will so all her estate does not pass to his stepbrothers. Alas, this involves a considerable ride by bus across the mountain passes, the driver is a drunkard, and the town firecracker, Raquel, has her sights set on our hero.
Review:
This amusing curio is another example of how the director overlaid his own thematic concerns on what would otherwise be a conventional domestic drama with folkloric elements. The narrative thread is not merely whether or not Oliverio will make it back before his mother dies, but whether he will succumb to Raquel's incontestable charms: the 'Subida al cielo' is thus more than simply the name given to the treacherous pass of the title! Buñuel inserts miniatures, a fever dream and assorted colourful characters (a politician up for re-election, an inebriate bus driver, but no priest, interestingly), and the film is a fascinating time capsule reminiscent of an old Spanish school text book.
