Los Olvidados (1950)

Ultramar Films/ Koch-Lorber Films
Director: Luis Buñuel
Starring: Alfonso Mejía, Stella Inda, Miguel Inclán, Roberto Cobo

A retort to all the films about dirty-faced boys of the crime ridden streets that find a fatherly figure and miraculously discover the path of the straight and true we are delivered a motion picture that highlights the endless cycle of poverty and crime. In this tale society keeps youths from finding their way out of a destructive cycle in the Mexican feature Los Olvidados. For a film that was an immediate failure for its Spanish born director in his new homeland, it found international renown and an eventual status as a masterpiece of Latin cinema. With a touch of European style, the picture was a sad reminder of society and poverty.

 

Los Olvidados (which translates to “The Forgotten Ones”), or The Young and the Damned as it was known in the U.S., is a Mexican dramatic picture about the troubles lives of impoverished boys in Mexico City. An exhibition of the terrible cycle of suffering and despair within poverty, the film tells the story about a gang of boys that terrorize an impoverished neighborhood. Led by Jaibo (Roberto Cobo), the eldest and largest of the bunch who recently escaped from juvenile detention camp, the gang steal where they can, even beating a blind beggar (Miguel Inclán) for what he has. A younger boy Pedro (Alfonso Mejía) becomes our focus as his life is further brought down by Jaibo’s destructive nature. Pedro finds momentary hopes of making better of himself in life, but is continually threatened by Jaibo. It first begins with Pedro witnessing Jaibo murder a rival boy followed by Jaibo stealing from those around Pedro with the younger boy receiving the blame and punishment. Jaibo continues to haunt Pedro even as he serves in a juvenile camp ultimately leading to a confrontation between the two as Padro attempts to out the older boy leading to Jaibo killing Pedro. Shortly after Jaibo meets his demise by the police concluding this tale of how the spiral to devastation destroys these desperate youths who can never find a way out of the slums.

 

A far cry from the common morals of Mexican ideals and the execution of Mexican cinema Luis Buñuel delivers a motion picture that feels more European in nature as it shares of a story of destructive natures and hopelessness in the face of society’s ills. A film whose subject matter and views Mexican audiences were not keen on viewing when they went to the theater in a less than extravagant manner, the picture is more of an art piece and an essay on the suffering of those that go unnoticed. Gritty and filmed in black and white in the dusty slums of Mexico, the feature captures the unfortunate truths of poverty, its communities of desperation, and how it leads to continual destruction. Featuring long running names of Mexican cinema performers such as Stella Inda, Miguel Inclán, Roberto Cobo, and Alma Della Fuentes, Los Olvidados is movie that featured some of the best talent at the time.

 

Spanish born surrealist director Luis Buñuel spent many years studying and practicing his craft from Europe, to Hollywood before settling in his new adoptive homeland of Mexico. Following the success of his recent picture El Gran Calavera (1949) he was allowed to find his next project wishing to make a story on a subject he found great drama in, the overlook impoverished. A news story of a dead body mof a small boy found in a garbage dump inspired him to develop a story of how a young boy was led to this mysterious death. Thus was the genesis of Los Olvidados. 

 

From production the film was controversial. His hired screenwriters disliked how the story perceived Mexican culture. One writer would demand his name removed from the script. Actors had difficulty performing their parts to the director’s likeness as they had problems with the story. Crewmembers on the 18-day shoot disagreed with Buñuel’s focus. Even his wife stopped talking to him during the project. Appalled by how unforgiving the characters were in the movie, most notably Pedro’s mother played by Stella Inda, in deeply Christian nation with love and forgiveness at its heart Buñuel found opposition throughout his creative process.

 

Filmed in the dusty streets with number of locals as extras or small character roles Buñuel’s European style of filmmaking evokes the neorealism found in Italian or French cinema, despite his continual denial as he perceived it. The picture contains plenty of his surrealistic nature, complete with a slow motion dream sequence and bothersome brutality towards animals. Perhaps the most unique shot of the film comes in the form of the Pedro character breaking down the fourth walls by looking into camera as he hurls an egg towards the lens where it shatters and oozes down the frame. The film was unlike movies in Mexico of the era.

 

Los Olvidados premiered Mexico on December 9^th and immediately it disgusted audiences and critics who saw the film as a slight against Mexico and its morals. Disagreeing with nearly everything the movie expressed as an afront towards Mexico the film was closed down only three days after opening with reviews burring Buñuel. Some called for Buñuel’s Mexican citizenship to be revoked for his disregard for Mexico’s sensibilities. Producers demanded a new happier ending be produced and a new opening with a narration over images of New York, London, and Paris, stating this could happen in any large city to further separate this story from being purely a Mexican issue.

 

Through surprising efforts Los Olvidados was chosen to represent Mexico in the 1951 Cannes Film Festival where it shined in the light if international critics for its artistry and storytelling. Unshackled by the eyes of local viewers the feature was praised heavily, embraced by audiences and critics of Europe’s cinematic elite. Buñuel was awarded the Best Director prize at the festival. With all the newly brought upon praise Los Olvidados reopened in Mexico to a renew appreciation allowing the picture to flourish back in its home nation. Since then, the film grew in stature as a masterpiece of Buñuel and Latin American cinema, today being considered one of the great movies of all time. The new opening that was commissioned would be attached to the film we view nowadays, but the happy ending with Pedro defeating Jaibo was never edited in, only to be a discovery in film archives in 2002, serving as a footnote to battles between producers and filmmakers as they differ in artistry.

 

Los Olvidados remains a masterpiece work of Luis Buñuel’s works as he finished out his career in Mexico while still babbling with work in Europe from time to time. This gritty movie about a gang of poor boys that illustrate the horrible destructive cycle of poverty can still speak to audiences of today as it remains a social issue, allowing the picture to impact those that discover it.