Los OlvidadosBuñuel,

1950

Luis Buñuel (1900 - 1983)

Spanish - Mexican filmmaker who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and United States

Born on February 22 in Calanda, Spain. Soon the family moved to Zaragoza

Calanda Zaragoza

Studied at the University of MadridBecome friend with Federico García Lorca

and Salvador Dalí

García Lorca Salvador Dalí

Generación del 27

Spanish civil war (1936 - 1939)

Luis Buñuel went to France (1936) and then to United States (1938) to direct propaganda films for the republican party.

United States (1938 -1945) and Mexico (1946 - 1953)

Senator Joseph McCarthy

In the time period of Joseph McCarthy, Luis Buñuel could not work in USA.

Mexico became his new home

International period (1954 - 1977)

“Viridiana", his most successful film (1961, Spain)Very anti - catholic, was prohibited in Spain until 1977

Last years (1978 - 1983)Luis Buñuel died on 29 July 1983 (aged 83)

in Mexico City

Head of Luis Buñuel in Centro Buñuel, Calanda.

Filmography of Luis Buñuel

• Un Perro Andaluz (French) (1929)• Las Hurdes / Tierra sin Pan (1932)• Los Olvidados (1950)

• Él (1952)• Ensayo de un crimen (1955)• Viridiana (1961)

• El ángel exterminador (1962)• Simón del desierto (1965)• Belle de Jour (1967)• El discreto encanto de la burguesía (1972)• El fantasma de la libertad (1974)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfglC_l_C-0

Main themes on his films

• Freedom• Unfair in the societies• Breaking down the establishment • To reject traditional ideas about family • To reject traditional ideas about religion• To change the society in which he lived

Main Awards

• Academy Award (Oscar) (1972) El discreto encanto de la burguesíaBest foreign language movie

• Cannes Festival (1951) Los OlvidadosBest Director

• Ariel de Oro Prizes• Besto movie (1951) Los Olvidados• Best direction (1951) Los Olvidados • Best adapted screenplay (1951) Los Olvidados• Best original score (1951) Los Olvidados• Best movie and adapted screenplay (1956) Robinson Crusoe

Main topics in Los Olvidados

• Poberty• Hopelessness • Violence• Orphanhood – No father figure• Loneliness• Injustice

Synopsis

• El Jaibo meets his gang band after having escaped from the correctional.• In revenge, he goes looking for Julian, who according to El Jaibo was

responsible for his detention.• In the presence of Pedro and with a rock as a weapon, El Jaibo kill Julian.• A blind man who lives by his unfortunate musical numbers and whose

guide is a young indigenous boy abandoned by his father, is stolen by El Jaibo’s gang band

• Pedro tries to approach her mother, but she rejects him arguing that it is the product of a rape.• Pedro’s mother accused him of a theft made actually by El Jaibo, and

takes him to the correctional.• After a few altercations in the reformatory institution, Pedro decides

to obey its Director with a task this one assigned to him.• However, El Jaibo appears on Pedro’s route and intercepts him to

finally steal the money.

Synopsis

• Outraged, Pedro reveals that it was El Jaibo who killed Julian. El Jaibo manages to escape.• Furious, El Jaibo killed Pedro at Meche’s house, a young girl whom

the blind old man tries to rape.• After leaving Meche’s house with the dead body of Pedro inside, El

Jaibo is discovered by the police, which did not hesitate to shoot and wound him to death.

Synopsis

Lighting, Shots and Lenses

- Lighting: medium used to create mood and convey the central theme of a given film.

- Type of lighting: Low-key, High-key and Fill-light- Shot: A unit of length or duration used to highlight key

elements within a film by way of a video camera- Type of shots: Mid-shot, Close-up and Wide-shot- Lenses: Medium used to emphasize the importance of certain

scenes by way of focalization.

Lighting, Shots and Lenses Why they are important in the context of the film?

- To create a bond between the audience and the film.- This aids to expose the audience to the lives of those living

on the fringes of poverty- To create mood and to establish the tone of the film

How does the director use these elements to convey the idea of poverty, violence and hopelessness to the audience?

- These elements help to emphasize the uniqueness of socioeconomic inequality. The candid actions of the characters on film work to provide an emic perspective.

Lighting: High Key• Minute 35:18• Highlights characters

sentiments/intentions• Advances plot• Suggests suspiciousness • Suggests that the two characters might

be scheming • Suggests that the two characters may be

conspiring to commit a crime

Lighting: Fill light

• Minute 49:47• Creates an air of seduction• Highlights El Jaibo’s intentions • Infers that Pedro’s mother is the

main focus of the scene

Lighting: Low key• Minute 13:40• Shows hopelesness, despair• Suggests social conflict• The two kids alone in the dark

street at night seems to portray poverty, abscense of familiy, lack of role models

Types of Shots: Mid-Shot

• Minute 20:09 • Shows people from Torso-up• Emphasizes Action

Types of Shots: Wide Shot

• Minute 1:04:01• Demostrates living conditions• Establishes the scene for

conflict

• Minute 55:23• Establishes tone• Shows emotion• Resignation• Key moment of official

separation between Pedro and his mother (dramatism)

Types of Shots: Close-Up

The Use of Lenses: Deep Focus

• Minute 9:31• Draws attention to the middle

of the screen to watch a situation or a character in particular• Guides the eye to a specific

point of focus• Is a key element of one of the

message of the movie: poverty, loneliness (no family, no father)

The Use of Lenses: Rack Focus

• Minute 53:27• Direct attention of viewers to a

specific point• Demonstrates clarity• Foreground in focus to suggest

authority

Conclusion

“Los Olvidados” was released in 1950 in Mexico City. With the realistic display of poverty and violence, the reception was not enthusiastic. There was a danger of physical violence against Luis Buñuel and the film stayed in the theatres for only four days.

However, in the Cannes Festival in 1951 Luis Buñuel was awarded the best director and the film was reintroduced in Mexico City, where it stayed in cinemas for two month.

Now, more than 60 years later, not much have changed in Mexico City. The violence and the poverty is the same as shown in “Los Olvidados”. This is why the film is as relevant now as before.

Conclusion