Simón Del Desierto
Luis Buñuel
Perched on a pole in the middle of the desert, holy man Simon spends days praying and blessing the faithful who gather around him. He lives an ascetic existence, making do with the strict minimum. But Satan, who is portrayed by an attractive woman, uses his charms to tempt the inflexible Simon...
With : Claudio Brook, Enrique Álvarez Félix, Hortensia Santoveña, Francisco Reiguera, Silvia Pinal, Luis Aceves Castañeda, Antonio Bravo
Screenplay : Luis Buñuel, Julio Alejandro
Image : Gabriel Figueroa
Sound : James F. Fields
Music : Raúl Lavista
Editing : Luis Buñuel, Carlos Savage
Screenplay : Luis Buñuel, Julio Alejandro
Image : Gabriel Figueroa
Sound : James F. Fields
Music : Raúl Lavista
Editing : Luis Buñuel, Carlos Savage
Production : Gustavo Alatriste
"Here we have the maximum amount of spirituality with the maximum amount of realism", said Buñuel about this film. Here the fervour of Faith is born from the shock of contrasts: the grandiloquence of the column is opposed to the asceticism of Simon and the grace of his prayers, to the burlesque appearances and black humour of Satan. Like in many of Buñuel's films, Simon is a solitary character, who places himself at the margins of the story, of daily life, and all of this for a dogmatic idea. "Dogmatic characters attract me, because I'm one of them". (Luis Buñuel) The film is inspired by a historical character, Simeon Stylites, a 5th century hermit who spent more than 40 years on the top of a pillar. Despite a lack of money which meant that the film stayed a medium-length film, Simon del Desierto (Simon of the Desert) remains one of Buñuel's major films.