Mexican Bus Ride (1952)
"Subida al cielo" (original title)

A young man and woman's honeymoon is cut short when the man learns that his mother has fallen ill back at home. The newlywed couple rush there to discover the other sons neglecting their ... See full summary »

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Manuel Altolaguirre (story), Luis Buñuel (adaptation),

Stars:

Lilia Prado, Esteban Márquez, Luis Aceves Castañeda

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lilia Prado	...	Raquel
Esteban Márquez	...	Oliverio Grajales
Luis Aceves Castañeda	...	Silvestre
Manuel Dondé	...	Eladio González
Roberto Cobo	...	Juan
Beatriz Ramos	...	Elisa
Manuel Noriega	...	Licenciado Figueroa (as Manolo Noriega)
Roberto Meyer	...	Don Nemesio Álvarez y Villalbazo
Pedro Elviro	...	El cojo (as Pitouto)
Pedro Ibarra	...	Manuel
Leonor Gómez	...	Doña Linda
Chel López	...	Compadre Chema
Paz Villegas	...	Doña Ester - Mamá de Oliverio (as Paz Villegas de Orellana)
Silvia Castro
Paula Rendón

Storyline

A young man and woman's honeymoon is cut short when the man learns that his mother has fallen ill back at home. The newlywed couple rush there to discover the other sons neglecting their mom in order to plot their squandering of the inheritance. The newlywed son takes quite an adventurous bus-ride to a distant city to get his mother's will notarized to the contrary, and is faced with multiple temptations along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

bus ride | inheritance | voice over narration | wooden leg | last will and testament | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

26 June 1952 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Mexican Bus Ride

Filming Locations:

Guerrero, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Producciones Isla S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In his autobiography, _My Last Sigh_, Luis Buñuel said the screenplay was based on adventures that actually happened to his friend and producer of the film, Spanish poet Manuel Altolaguirre, while on a bus trip.

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Connections

Featured in Anoche soñé contigo (1992)

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Soundtracks

"La Sanmarqueña"
Written by Agustín Ramírez

User Reviews

the fantasy/dream sequence is excellent

As noted by others, this is not top notch Bunuel but it has much charm and it is as if the director is more interested in the Mexicans and their way of life than in bringing out any clever cinema tricks. Having said that the fantasy/dream sequence is excellent and the apple peel that surely represents the umbilical cord both amusing and disturbing at the same time. For it is true to say that through the course of the terrifying bus journey, central to the film, we do have the elements of birth, marriage and death. Plus, animals, music, singing and seduction. Somebody has described the bus driver as 'silly' but it occurs to me that although he seems ready to give up his bus driving upon almost any pretext, he is one of the only travellers who is not dishonest. We have the aspiring politician, not sure about the hen man, there's the scheming and beautiful sex interest, and even our hero desperate to help his dying mother get a will written , is more than a little driven by self interest. So although a wonderfully sunny and joyful film, with that good feeling that all are at one, it is far from as simple as that and just beneath the surface, surely that wily old Bunuel is having more than a little dig