Wednesday, October 19, 2011

77. Las Hurdes

Las Hurdes
Land Without Bread
1933

Good god, that was depressing.  I am in the midst of watching The Talented Mr. Ripley, reading The Shining, and watching this little comedic gem.  I need to consult some chocolate about this.  But before we resort to that, let's finish the review!

Life in Las Hurdes ain't no crystal stair, ladies and gentleman (wow, I just made that reference).  The point of this documentary was to show that even in "civilized" countries like Spain, things are not always ginger peachy.  In addition to showing some of the poor inhabitants, you also get to watch a goat fall off a cliff and a donkey get killed by bees.  That was so gross!!

This entire documentary, though, is narrated in a cold, emotionless voice much like Ovid's.  I would recommend that you watch it.  It is only twenty-seven minutes and it is available on YouTube.  I wish I hadn't seen somethings but I guess that really doesn't matter.  I mean, Se7en is just the worst and I will still give it a glowing review.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

This film was banned in Spain from 1933-36.

Holy shit, this is so disturbing.  The animals were actually killed in the way shown on camera.  That is revolting.

First part:

2 comments:

  1. This is very much a politic movie and very manipulated. I am unsure of what exactly Bunuel's mission was, but my guess is that he wanted to piss somebody off and in that he was successful.

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