Ensayo de un crimen (1955)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Luis Buñuel (writer)
Eduardo Ugarte (writer)

Release Date:

19 May 1955 (Mexico)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

The delirious journey of a mental disordered man, who is obsessed in making the perfect crime.

Plot Keywords:

Bizarre | Black Comedy | High Heels | Stockings | Attempted Murder

Awards:

1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Miroslava Stern	...	Lavinia
Ernesto Alonso	...	Archibaldo de la Cruz
Rita Macedo	...	Patricia Terrazas
Ariadna Welter	...	Carlota Cervantes
Eva Calvo	...	Señora de la Cruz, Archibaldo's mother
Enrique Díaz 'Indiano'	...	Señor de la Cruz, Archibaldo's father
Carlos Riquelme	...	The commissioner
Chabela Durán	...	Sister Trinidad
Carlos Martínez Baena	...	Priest
Manuel Dondé	...	Colonel at wedding
Armando Velasco	...	Judge
Rodolfo Landa	...	Alejandro Rivas
Andrea Palma	...	Mrs. Cervantes
Leonor Llausás	...	The governess
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Armando Acosta	...	Man at Gordo's
Eduardo Alcaraz	...	Gordo Azuara
Janet Alcoriza	...	American tourist
Rafael Banquells hijo	...	Archibaldo as a boy
Antonio Bravo	...	Antiques dealer
Emilio Brillas	...	mannequin maker
Lupe Carriles	...	Maid at Carlota's home
Jorge Casanova	...	draftsman
Ángel Di Stefani	...	police agent
Enrique García Álvarez	...	Chucho
Jesús Gómez	...	Lopez, policeman
Elodia Hernández	...	dress shop owner
Francisco Ledesma	...	Antique shop asst.
José María Linares-Rivas	...	Willy Corduran
Salvador Lozano	...	Gambler
Ángel Merino	...	handwriting expert
Roberto Meyer	...	Doctor
José Peña	...	Esteban
Ignacio Peón	...	wedding guest

Also Known As:

La vida criminal de Archibaldo de la Cruz
Rehearsal for a Crime
The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (USA)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

México D.F., Mexico

Company:

Alianza Cinematográfica Española

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crimen ferpecto (2004)

One of Bunuel's top works

Perhaps my favorite of Buñuel's Mexican years. As a child, Archibaldo de la Cruz willed the death of his young, sexy nanny through the device of a magical music box. As an adult, he finds this box at a pawn shop, and it awakens the exciting feelings he had as he stood over the corpse of his nanny checking out her exposed thigh. He decides to become a serial killer, but it never quite works out that way. Every person he sets out to kill ends up being murdered by another's hand. Actually, I shouldn't say "person," as Archibaldo's violent emotions only arise towards women. There is some heavy Catholic symbology to the picture, and the violence towards women obviously arises from the twisted mores of Catholicism. His first intended victim as an adult, for example, is a brazen tramp who openly expresses her wish to seduce him to get back at her husband. Buñuel had perhaps the most impeccable sense for creating finales, and the one here is as odd and remarkable as any other. Watch the two actions Archibaldo performs with his cane. I'm not 100% sure what they signify, but I know that must be of the utmost importance. Ensayo de un crimen should be watched back to back with Buñuel's 1953 film, Él, also about a man being driven insane over his wife because of his strict religious beliefs. 10/10.