Susana
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Written by Luis Buñuel and Rodolfo Usigli from the novel by Manuel Reachi and Jaime Salvador
1951/Mexico
Internacional Cinematográfica
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Sex without religion is like cooking an egg without salt. Sin gives more chances to desire. – Luis Buñuel[/box]
This is an OK melodrama with a few signature Buñuel touches. I would have liked more of them.
Susana (Rosita Quintana) has been locked up in a girl’s reformatory for unspecified crimes. She apparently goes wild on a regular basis and is once again locked up in solitary. Her prayers are answered when the bars of her cell window come loose and she escapes into the pouring rain.
Susana finds herself on the farm of a very happy family, headed by Don Guadalupe (Francisco Soler). They take her in and everyone loves the “innocent” lass. This is not enough for Susana, however, and she proceeds to seduce and enslave the father, the son and the overseer.
I don’t have much to say about this one. The seduction scenes are the best and most Buñuelean. The director seems still to be on a fairly short leash here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W0kEyA2OlM
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