Los olvidados (1950)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Luis Alcoriza (writer)
Luis Buñuel (writer)

Release Date:

24 March 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City...

Plot Keywords:

Slum | Mexico | Mexico City | Delinquent | Miser

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 12 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Estela Inda	...	La madre de Pedro
Miguel Inclán	...	Don Carmelo, el ciego
Alfonso Mejía	...	Pedro
Roberto Cobo	...	El Jaibo
Alma Delia Fuentes	...	Meche
Francisco Jambrina	...	El director de la escuela granja
Jesús Navarro	...	El padre de Julián (as Jesús García Navarro)
Efraín Arauz	...	Cacarizo
Sergio Villarreal
Jorge Pérez	...	Pelon
Javier Amézcua	...	Julián
Mário Ramírez	...	Ojitos

Also Known As:

The Forgotten Ones (International: English title) (literal title)
The Young and the Damned

Runtime:

85 min | USA:80 min | France:77 min (DVD)

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Germany:16 | UK:12 (2007) | UK:X (1952) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | France:-16

Filming Locations:

Estudios Tepeyac, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Ultramar Films

Trivia:

When it was released in Mexico in 1950, its theatrical commercial run only lasted for three days due to the enraged reactions from the press, government, and upper and middle class audiences.

Quotes:

Pedro: [addressing his mother, just before she leaves him at the Farm School] Just now you remember that I'm your son.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cartouches gauloises (2007)

A Moving, Sincere And Totally Captivating Film

This movie is one of Bunuel's most peculiar works because this time around the Spanish filmmaker presents his usual social critique from the point of view of the underdogs. Many viewers have described this film as a neo-realist (part of the neo-realist movement that started in Europe in the 1940s). But I felt "Los Olvidados" looks more like one of those social pot-boilers that Hollywood made during the 1930s, very similar to films like William Wyler's "Dead End" and William Wellman's "Wild Boys of the Road." Also, there is something in the material that reminds you of Dickens at his best. Despite the obvious attempts to create realistic situations, the film is very stylish, with plenty of striking camera angles and a few startling surreal sequences. Symbolism is plentiful (you will never look at a chicken the same way), and even though Bunuel sometimes resorts to preaching the audience, this is an undeniable powerful exploration of the disenfranchised. One of Bunuel's best movies.