Susana (1951)

An unstable young woman escapes from a reformatory for very, very wayward girls and deceptively finds shelter in the kind home of a frighteningly nice and decent family. Little by little, ... See full summary »

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Manuel Reachi (story), Jaime Salvador (adaptation)

Stars:

Rosita Quintana, Fernando Soler, Víctor Manuel Mendoza

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fernando Soler	...	Don Guadalupe
Rosita Quintana	...	Susana
Víctor Manuel Mendoza	...	Jesús
María Gentil Arcos	...	Felisa
Luis López Somoza	...	Alberto
Matilde Palou	...	Doña Carmen
Rafael Icardo	...	Don Severiano, veterinary
Enrique del Castillo	...	Official reformatory

Storyline

An unstable young woman escapes from a reformatory for very, very wayward girls and deceptively finds shelter in the kind home of a frighteningly nice and decent family. Little by little, she causes unrest and discord among the members of the household, until they are virtually fighting with each other.

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Plot Keywords:

family relationships | prison | spider | rat | girl | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Connections

Remake of The Squall (1929)

User Reviews

Good film about an unstable young delinquent getting away from a reformatory and finds solace at a wealthy home , being well directed by the Spanish Luis Buñuel

Susana is a gorgeous , mean delinquent girl (Rosita Quintana) who escapes from a reform school of wayward women and deceptively finds shelter at home of good family . Along the way the sultry , ambitious young attempts to break an agreable family to get her egoistic aims . The apparently friendly young woman is invited to stay in the family home of the wealthy owner, Don Guadalupe (Fernando Soler) , proprietary a luxurious hacienda . He's a good man , well married , and living happily along with his wife (Maria Arcos) and only son (Luis López Somoza) . The-not-so-innocent girl becomes at the beginning an enjoyable guest but she ruthlessly uses everyone in his goals . There is also a foreman (Victor Mendoza) who is equally seduced and a snooper maid . Susana skillfully attempts to break the family harmony . As orderly lives of the members of the attractive family become into a frenzied chaos and unrest . Step by step she causes mayhem and discord among the decent members of the household.

The movie is well worthy thanks to razor-sharp performances as well as certain critical revealing the hypocrisies of modern society , in which a wayward girl uses the power of manipulation and eroticism to get her dark purports and eventually causing distresses until they are virtually struggling with each other . The picture features exceptional work by Rosita Quintana , she's magnificently charming as well as hateful playing the insidious Susana who attempts to dissect the harmonious family group . Her acting result to be a phenomenal precedent to the character who played Sue Lyon in ¨Lolita¨ or Carrol Baker in ¨Baby Doll¨ . The baddie female is really a selfish young , a manipulating babe who hates and seduces , as well as uses her feminine wiles to tempt all around . Furthermore, a beautifully cinematography in subdued black and white by José Ortiz Ramos , being shot , as usual , in Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. And atmospheric and appropriate musical score by Raúl Lavista.

The motion picture was competently directed by Luis Buñuel , belonging to his Mexican period and it won Ariel Awards, Mexico 1952 and Nominee Silver Ariel Best Young Actor Luis López Somoza . After shooting Spanish and French films as "Un Chien Andalou" (1929) , and ¨Age of Gold¨(1930) , ¨Hurdes tierra sin pan¨ (1936) , Buñuel went on his Mexican period in which he teamed up with producer Óscar Dancigers and after a couple of unmemorable efforts shot back to international attention with the lacerating study of Mexican street urchins in ¨Los Olvidados¨ (1950) , winning him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival . But despite this new-found acclaim, Buñuel spent much of the next decade working on a variety of ultra-low-budget films, few of which made much impact outside Spanish-speaking countries , though many of them are well worth seeking out . As he went on filming "The Great Madcap" , ¨The brute¨, "Wuthering Heights", ¨El¨ , "The Criminal Life of Archibaldo De la Cruz" , ¨Robinson Crusoe¨ , ¨Death in the garden¨ and many others . And finally his second French-Spanish period , usually in collaboration with producer Serge Silberman and writer Jean-Claude Carrière with notorious as well as polemic films , such as : ¨Viridiana¨ , Tristana¨ , ¨The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and his last picture , "That Obscure Object of Desire" . Susana rating : 7.5/10 . Essential and indispensable seeing for Luis Buñuel aficionados.

Details

Official Sites:

Cinémathèque (French)

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Susana

Filming Locations:

Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Internacional Cinematográfica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1