17. SUSANA, dir. LUIS BUNUEL, 1951
_____
mondo cane made me feel like i was reading a
painfully outdated anthropology text
full of absurd exoticization
that makes you roll your eyes
feel sick
and want to cover yourself
in horror and shame.
i hated it.
ridiculous scenes of "crazed natives"
juxtaposed with the absurd but harmlessly painted
customs of white people in "civil society" --
the drunk germans didn't look their best,
but they were also not
breastfeeding pigs, missing limbs, or torturing whales.
it is one thing to show things as they are, without interruption or judgement, another to articulate this as the intention like a disclaimer to then be circumvented in order to shock and awe.
the turtle dying on the beach while the camera idly recorded was probably the only time this dual goal was actually accomplished, and probably the only moment i felt i was watching something perhaps worth my time, even as i wanted to sheild my eyes.
it's often painful to watch the truth,
but even more painful to watch the truth be manipulated
into disgusting lies.
this movie did nothing
for me.
i have high hopes, however, for susana.
2 comments:
beautifully written and not at all unmerited. though i don't share the visceral hatred for it i think you do, i can't dispute the feeling.
it's over-the-top, xenophobic, all in all pretty ridiculous. but it gave me insight into the "mondo" phenomenon, from the film history standpoint, and seemed to me, ultimately, just a waste of potential talent. the "talent" part might be generous, but that's my inkling anyway.
though i had no idea about the song "more" coming from that film. what?
so i learned something.
sorry to have picked something that did nothing for you. left field did not work out this time. i feel on a roll of duds!
ps: been meaning to delve into bunuel, too, so good, reliable choice there. i am pretty positive we'll both enjoy this one more.
pps: one more thing about "mondo cane"--don't you find, however, that for as shocking and surreal as those images were purported to be, that none of them are sticking? this film was ultimately forgettable, which is something that fascinates me to think about. those things that speak to both its moment in cultural history (who saw this when it came out? how popular was it? how seriously did people take it?) and its merits as a film, beyond its attitudes and its content--i think these are worthwhile thoughts.
i'm not unhappy i saw it.
silver lining thinking.
Post a Comment