Luis Buñuel who was born in Spain was very well known for his surrealism, some have seen him as the father of it - An Andalusian Dog (1929). He made few English language films and The Young One (White Trash) is one of them. It was filmed in Mexico but takes place in the southern states of the US. If one knows the main subjects of the film, religion and racism, the idea of The Young One might not seem so original. Its plot reminds me a little of Stanley Kramer's The Defiant Ones (1958). But The Young One is a great example how Bunuel is able to make something intense and personal from a conventional subject.
The Young One starts when a black man, Traver, suspected from a rape, escapes and runs into a young girl, Ewie (Evalyn). When Ewie takes Traver back to the place she lives in, Traver meets Miller, a man Ewie has been living with since her father died. Miller can't stand black people and he wants to kill Traver for stealing his gun, which Traver actually bought. When a priest comes to the place, Miller has to decide whether to let Traver go or to give him to the mob. To look good or bad in the girl's eyes. As the story goes on we start to see what is hidden under Miller.
The film is very enjoyable to watch, it is written very well and the plot is interesting. Even in the beginning one will be hooked, because of how intense it is. The hungry outlaw Traver runs to the lake - grabs a lobster and eats it. The young Ewie stabs on a spider and collects honey from bee hives. This strong sensuality tunes a certain intensity for the film, which is reinforced by the absence of musical score.
The Young One makes good observations on racism but basically brings nothing new to one who has seen The Defiant Ones, but it not the purpose of the film. Even that it's basic themes are racism and religion, The Young One goes deeper on morality and youth. Luis Bunuel's movie is a comical survey of these themes, racism and religion, the coexistence of them. Ewie goes to the shower without caring less about the fact that it might awake awkward urges in Traver. Miller brings high heel shoes for Ewie from the town, in which Ewie doesn't feel comfortable at all. Her first experiences of sexuality and adulthood are clumsy. In the same way Bunuel describes Ewie's first experience with religion. Usually films that "bash" religions, might go over the top and showing how amazed people are when they hear of it. But the baptism seems much more suspicious, in Bunuel's eyes, than the act caused by Miller's urges.
A fine film about racism, it also describes youth and religion in a brilliant way. It's a poetic film, the girl and the obsessive sensuality, the urge towards the woman. Bunuel leaves the end open, will it be a tragedy or a comedy? The audience gets to decide that. The Young One is a tragical, but also a comical survey of religion and racism, it achieves a new level of cinematic poetry.
The Young One starts when a black man, Traver, suspected from a rape, escapes and runs into a young girl, Ewie (Evalyn). When Ewie takes Traver back to the place she lives in, Traver meets Miller, a man Ewie has been living with since her father died. Miller can't stand black people and he wants to kill Traver for stealing his gun, which Traver actually bought. When a priest comes to the place, Miller has to decide whether to let Traver go or to give him to the mob. To look good or bad in the girl's eyes. As the story goes on we start to see what is hidden under Miller.
The film is very enjoyable to watch, it is written very well and the plot is interesting. Even in the beginning one will be hooked, because of how intense it is. The hungry outlaw Traver runs to the lake - grabs a lobster and eats it. The young Ewie stabs on a spider and collects honey from bee hives. This strong sensuality tunes a certain intensity for the film, which is reinforced by the absence of musical score.
The Young One makes good observations on racism but basically brings nothing new to one who has seen The Defiant Ones, but it not the purpose of the film. Even that it's basic themes are racism and religion, The Young One goes deeper on morality and youth. Luis Bunuel's movie is a comical survey of these themes, racism and religion, the coexistence of them. Ewie goes to the shower without caring less about the fact that it might awake awkward urges in Traver. Miller brings high heel shoes for Ewie from the town, in which Ewie doesn't feel comfortable at all. Her first experiences of sexuality and adulthood are clumsy. In the same way Bunuel describes Ewie's first experience with religion. Usually films that "bash" religions, might go over the top and showing how amazed people are when they hear of it. But the baptism seems much more suspicious, in Bunuel's eyes, than the act caused by Miller's urges.
A fine film about racism, it also describes youth and religion in a brilliant way. It's a poetic film, the girl and the obsessive sensuality, the urge towards the woman. Bunuel leaves the end open, will it be a tragedy or a comedy? The audience gets to decide that. The Young One is a tragical, but also a comical survey of religion and racism, it achieves a new level of cinematic poetry.