Simon of the Desert (1965)

Simon, a deeply religious man living in the 4th century, wants to be nearer to God so he climbs a column. The Devil wants him to come down to Earth and is trying to seduce him.

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Luis Buñuel (based on a story by), Luis Buñuel (screenplay and dialogue)

Stars:

Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal, Enrique Álvarez Félix

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Claudio Brook	...	Simón
Enrique Álvarez Félix	...	Hermano Matías / Young monk
Hortensia Santoveña	...	Madre de Simón / The mother
Francisco Reiguera	...	Monje viejo / Old monk
Luis Aceves Castañeda	...	Hermano Trifón / Monk
Enrique García Álvarez	...	Hermano Zenón / Old monk
Antonio Bravo	...	Monje / Monk
Enrique del Castillo	...	El mutilado / The Mutilated One
Eduardo MacGregor	...	Hermano Daniel / Monk
Silvia Pinal	...	El diablo / The Devil

Storyline

The ascetic Simón believes he is a sinner and decides to self-inflict a sacrifice, living like a hermit on the top of a pedestal in the middle of the desert to be closer to God and resist the temptations of the world. His followers are peasants and travelers that believe that Simón is a saint capable of performing miracles and they crowd to hear his speeches. However, Satan tries to tempt him with the pleasures of the world.

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Plot Keywords:

temptation | dark humor | bare breasts | absurd humor | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish Latin

Release Date:

9 February 1970 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Simon of the Desert

Filming Locations:

Samalayuca, Chihuahua, Mexico

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,843

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Producción Cinematográfica (STPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Luis Buñuel: [Injured Hands] Simon performs a miracle to restore a peasant's mangled hands.

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Goofs

When the coffin is floating through the desert toward Simon's pillar, the wire pulling the coffin can be seen several times.

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Quotes

The Devil: Come down off that column. Taste earthly pleasures till you've had your fill. Till the very word pleasure fills you with nausea.

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Connections

Referenced in Inland Empire (2006)

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Soundtracks

Himnos de los Peregrinos
Written by Raúl Lavista

User Reviews

An incomplete masterpiece...

After being forced to self-exile by the Spanish Civil War, Spaniard director Luis Buñuel moved to Mexico, and found in the country's struggling film industry the freedom he had so long desired. In the late 50s, and after a decade of making some of the best Mexican movies ever mad, he met Gustavo Alatriste and his wife, actress Silvia Pinal. Alatriste was very interested in Buñuel's cinema and decided to produce Buñuel's movies with Pinal as main actress. This partnership gave Buñuel even more freedom than before, and resulted in three of the most interesting and controversial films of his career. "Viridiana", "El Ángel Extreminador" and this movie, "Simón del Desierto", form a trilogy where Buñuel criticizes mercilessly, but with humor, the hypocrisy of the high society, the government and of course, religion.

Simón (Claudio Brook) is a deep religious man who decided that to be closer to God, he should remain alone in a column, living as an hermit practicing asceticism, in order to escape from the world's temptations. Soon Simón becomes to be regarded as a Saint, and people from all over the region come to hear him speak, and witness his miracles. Satan (Silvia Pinal) visits Simón too, in an attempt to tempt Simón with the earthly pleasures that Simón has decided to leave behind. However, the Devil is probably the lesser of Simón's problems, as his own elitist position as an outsider makes him to discover the truth behind organized religion, and so he begins question the nature of what he does, and more importantly, what he believes.

Written by Luis Buñuel and Julio Alejandro (Buñuel's collaborator in "Nazarín" and "Viridiana"), the story of "Simón del Desierto" is loosely based on the real life story of Saint Simeon Stylites, a monk who like Simón, decided to spent his days at the top of a pillar. "Simon del Desierto" parodies St. Simeon's story in a wonderful satire about the way Saints are seen and venerated by the religious people. Using the character of Simón, Buñuel explores the human side of religion and with a good dose of humor, he completely exposes his views on it, making a sharp criticism not on religion itself, but on religious organizations and their blind and passive followers, who in Buñuel's eyes, become more and more dehumanized the closer they get to God.

In many ways, "Simón del Desierto" works like a slow and fascinating descend into one of Buñuel's surreal nightmares. With a beautiful cinematography by the legendary Gabriel Figueroa, the movie feels initially as a real biopic of the Saint's life, but the portrait of dignity that Buñuel seems to be creating with Simon soon discovers itself as an absurd, as Simón's exaggerated Holiness proves to be as corrupting as the Devil's temptations, and through a series of visions Buñuel breaks the realistic tone and smoothly turns the movie into a surreal madness apparently mimicking the dehumanization of the Saint. The madness concludes in one of Buñuel's most strange finales ever, inviting the audience to make their own conclusions about the movie, and about sainthood.

Claudio Brook and Silvia Pinal are basically the main cast of the film, and their work together is really amazing. A very underrated actor, Brook is very convincing, and very funny too, making Buñuel's character come to life and carrying the film with natural ease and powerful presence. Brook delivers his lines with dignity and power, as if he was really being an actor in a biography of the Saint (Ironically, he would play Jesus in two films after "Simón del Desierto"). Silvia Pinal is very good as the Devil, although not as impressive as she was in "Viridiana", she delivers an excellent performance as the erotic representation of Satan. The supporting cast is very small, and have very limited screen time, but overall they do a good job. Jesús Fernández shines in the small role of a dwarf goatherd who seems to know more than what his humble looks tell.

The movie is probably one of the most interesting films of Buñuel, but at the same time one of the most troubled, as the low budget couldn't allow him better production values. But the worse flaw occurred because in a very unfortunate incident, Alatriste was unable to complete the funding of Buñuel's film, so the director was forced to stop the film's production and make a quick ending. The bizarre finale of the movie is very simplistic and feels horribly rushed; breaking the pace of the story in a very bad way. Still, even when the rushed ending damages the movie a lot, at least it gives an idea of what Buñuel's intentions with the film were.

While the movie was never completed the way Buñuel desired, "Simón del Desierto" is equally as good as the master's better known films, and it also offers the chance to understand the ideology of the man known as "master of surrealism". The excellent performances, Figueroa's beautiful photography and Buñuel's superb direction are definitely the ingredients for a masterpiece, and this modest movie, incomplete as it is, it's definitely one. 8/10