Even with the economic restrictions of his Mexican exile, Luis Buñuel proved he could turn an otherwise unassuming project into a signature film of unique wit and style. The simple story follows an unlucky young bridegroom on a long, fantastic journey by bus across the country to visit his ailing mother. With his mind distracted by thoughts of her death, he encounters on his trip a multitude of life, while the bus and its passengers careen from one diversion to another. Every encounter is underscored by the director's distinctive brand of deadpan absurdity: a peg-legged gentleman stuck in a mud puddle; a man selling mail-order chickens; a detour for a birthday fiesta thrown by the driver's mother. There's even a dream sequence loaded with the same, crazy Freudian symbolism left over from Buñuel's earlier collaborations with Salvador Dali. In its own quiet way the film has to be considered an underrated classic, directed with a surplus of humor and humanity by an acknowledged master.
12 Reviews
Life as a Mexican Bus Ride
john-24481 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Ascent to Heaven (aka Mexican Bus Ride) is a sweet little gem of a film. The movie deals with issues of life and death and marriage in a straightforward realistic manner. Oliviero gets married, and goes away on his "honeymoon" (local tradition has the newlyweds spend a night on a nearby deserted island). While still rowing out to the island, he is called back by his brother informing him that his mother has become worse and is on her deathbed. There's a nice moment to illustrate his new bride being (understandably) abandoned, as we see Oliviera and his brother talking in the motorboat, and then, after a pause, see the bride behind them being towed in the rowboat.
As it turns out, the Mother controls a sizable inheritance which Oliviera's two brothers have designs upon. The Mother wants to make a final will leaving the choice property to her deceased daughter's young son. But the scheming brothers are drinking buddies with the local gov't official, who declares himself unwilling to get involved in a family matter. So it's up to Oliviera to travel to the nearest city and get a real lawyer to secure the Mother's final wishes.
So, along with Oliviera, we take a Mexican bus ride. Just as Oliviera's family life has ups and downs (a new wife and a dying mother), villains and innocents (his brothers and his nephew), and tough choices (abandoning his mother's deathbed to ensure her wishes), the bus journey will replicate and expand upon the difficulties of doing the right thing in an unpredictable world. The Mexican Bus Ride -- Bunuel's amusing metaphor for life's journey -- is a protracted and messy affair, filled with many distractions, temptations, frustrations, and goals hard to reach, alternating with moments of happiness. It provides us with a child's birth, another child's death, and a child who shall lead us. One of the nice aspects is how everyone has their own story and attendant desires, hopes and dreams. The bus driver is able to make his mother's birthday special by bringing along a busload of celebrants (and customers to their café), which delays our hero's quest to help his own mother on her deathday. So Oliviera borrows a vehicle and continues on alone ... well, alone except for the town vixen who decides to hitch along.
"Ascent to Heaven" is the name of the treacherous mountain that Oliviera must cross to get to the city and try to set things right. While trying to stay on the straight and narrow, Oliviera is faced with a twisting perilous path. And just when he reaches the peak, he meets his downfall, allowing himself to be seduced. Reluctantly, almost accidentally, he veers off the righteous path of fidelity both to his mother's wishes and to his wife. (And since this is Bunuel, feel free to note the parallels to Christ being tempted by Satan on a lofty peak, and Eve leading Adam astray). Oliviera's weaknesses will lead to his failure. And Bunuel throws in a concluding irony. Although Oliviera's motives are pure and he acts not in self-interest, circumstances lead Oliviera to use fairly shameless deceit and dishonesty, much in the same manner as his brothers, to resolve his mother's estate. The final scene brings the story full circle ... despite whatever happens, life goes on.
The woman who plays the town temptress does an excellent job. Sexy and alluring, definitely dangerous. The dream sequence(s) are quite good and well-integrated into the storyline. The fiesta with its lovely song and typical Mexican band makes for a lovely interlude in the film. I don't really agree with the charges of poor editing others complain of, with one exception. Just for the record, we do see the bus begin to back up on the mountain pass for a second or two, though the cut at that point is rather abrupt. It should be noted that there is both a 74 minute US version (which I have seen) and the original 85 minute Mexican version, which probably explains any choppiness observed.
The film offers an interesting glimpse at daily life in Mexico of the era, and speaks to some of the transitions occurring. There's an impromptu contest between tractor and oxen. Election campaigning nearly turns into a riot/lynching, but instead the idea of a free franchise is upheld by both candidates and followers. The political candidate is probably my favorite character in the film, as he is a local peasant trying to improve his station by entering modern society. As an aspiring politician, he's a man of action, but mostly gets things done by recklessly waving a gun around and bullying people. He also likes to drink and is forever trying to get the vixen, so it's not hard to see the path of corruption that will befall Mexico if his kind make up the elected officials. Yet, as is common throughout Bunuel, the candidate has a good side as well, and is just a flawed human being, like all of us.
Just remember that when you scale the ascent to heaven, there's nowhere to go but down.
As it turns out, the Mother controls a sizable inheritance which Oliviera's two brothers have designs upon. The Mother wants to make a final will leaving the choice property to her deceased daughter's young son. But the scheming brothers are drinking buddies with the local gov't official, who declares himself unwilling to get involved in a family matter. So it's up to Oliviera to travel to the nearest city and get a real lawyer to secure the Mother's final wishes.
So, along with Oliviera, we take a Mexican bus ride. Just as Oliviera's family life has ups and downs (a new wife and a dying mother), villains and innocents (his brothers and his nephew), and tough choices (abandoning his mother's deathbed to ensure her wishes), the bus journey will replicate and expand upon the difficulties of doing the right thing in an unpredictable world. The Mexican Bus Ride -- Bunuel's amusing metaphor for life's journey -- is a protracted and messy affair, filled with many distractions, temptations, frustrations, and goals hard to reach, alternating with moments of happiness. It provides us with a child's birth, another child's death, and a child who shall lead us. One of the nice aspects is how everyone has their own story and attendant desires, hopes and dreams. The bus driver is able to make his mother's birthday special by bringing along a busload of celebrants (and customers to their café), which delays our hero's quest to help his own mother on her deathday. So Oliviera borrows a vehicle and continues on alone ... well, alone except for the town vixen who decides to hitch along.
"Ascent to Heaven" is the name of the treacherous mountain that Oliviera must cross to get to the city and try to set things right. While trying to stay on the straight and narrow, Oliviera is faced with a twisting perilous path. And just when he reaches the peak, he meets his downfall, allowing himself to be seduced. Reluctantly, almost accidentally, he veers off the righteous path of fidelity both to his mother's wishes and to his wife. (And since this is Bunuel, feel free to note the parallels to Christ being tempted by Satan on a lofty peak, and Eve leading Adam astray). Oliviera's weaknesses will lead to his failure. And Bunuel throws in a concluding irony. Although Oliviera's motives are pure and he acts not in self-interest, circumstances lead Oliviera to use fairly shameless deceit and dishonesty, much in the same manner as his brothers, to resolve his mother's estate. The final scene brings the story full circle ... despite whatever happens, life goes on.
The woman who plays the town temptress does an excellent job. Sexy and alluring, definitely dangerous. The dream sequence(s) are quite good and well-integrated into the storyline. The fiesta with its lovely song and typical Mexican band makes for a lovely interlude in the film. I don't really agree with the charges of poor editing others complain of, with one exception. Just for the record, we do see the bus begin to back up on the mountain pass for a second or two, though the cut at that point is rather abrupt. It should be noted that there is both a 74 minute US version (which I have seen) and the original 85 minute Mexican version, which probably explains any choppiness observed.
The film offers an interesting glimpse at daily life in Mexico of the era, and speaks to some of the transitions occurring. There's an impromptu contest between tractor and oxen. Election campaigning nearly turns into a riot/lynching, but instead the idea of a free franchise is upheld by both candidates and followers. The political candidate is probably my favorite character in the film, as he is a local peasant trying to improve his station by entering modern society. As an aspiring politician, he's a man of action, but mostly gets things done by recklessly waving a gun around and bullying people. He also likes to drink and is forever trying to get the vixen, so it's not hard to see the path of corruption that will befall Mexico if his kind make up the elected officials. Yet, as is common throughout Bunuel, the candidate has a good side as well, and is just a flawed human being, like all of us.
Just remember that when you scale the ascent to heaven, there's nowhere to go but down.
the fantasy/dream sequence is excellent
christopher-underwood18 August 2008
As noted by others, this is not top notch Bunuel but it has much charm and it is as if the director is more interested in the Mexicans and their way of life than in bringing out any clever cinema tricks. Having said that the fantasy/dream sequence is excellent and the apple peel that surely represents the umbilical cord both amusing and disturbing at the same time. For it is true to say that through the course of the terrifying bus journey, central to the film, we do have the elements of birth, marriage and death. Plus, animals, music, singing and seduction. Somebody has described the bus driver as 'silly' but it occurs to me that although he seems ready to give up his bus driving upon almost any pretext, he is one of the only travellers who is not dishonest. We have the aspiring politician, not sure about the hen man, there's the scheming and beautiful sex interest, and even our hero desperate to help his dying mother get a will written , is more than a little driven by self interest. So although a wonderfully sunny and joyful film, with that good feeling that all are at one, it is far from as simple as that and just beneath the surface, surely that wily old Bunuel is having more than a little dig
Bunuel's magical mystery tour.
dbdumonteil4 January 2007
IMHO,a minor work in Bunuel's extraordinary filmography.The beginning is quite surprising:it recalls "Las Hurdes" with its documentary side and its voice over.But of course,it's not as tragic as the 1932 opus.
There's a theme Bunuel would develop (with great results ): the impossibility to do what you want to do: the heroes of "le Charme Discret de La Bourgeoisie " trying to get a good meal; or in "Cet Obscur Objet Du Desir" ,the woman who never wants to have sex with the hero.Here the young man's wedding night is postponed .But he will find solace (or is it a dream?) in Raquel's arms.
A lot of bizarre things happen on the bus,the birth and the death of a child,notably, and surrealism is not far way when apple peelings become some kind of umbilical cord.
There's a theme Bunuel would develop (with great results ): the impossibility to do what you want to do: the heroes of "le Charme Discret de La Bourgeoisie " trying to get a good meal; or in "Cet Obscur Objet Du Desir" ,the woman who never wants to have sex with the hero.Here the young man's wedding night is postponed .But he will find solace (or is it a dream?) in Raquel's arms.
A lot of bizarre things happen on the bus,the birth and the death of a child,notably, and surrealism is not far way when apple peelings become some kind of umbilical cord.
ASCENT TO HEAVEN (Luis Bunuel, 1952) ***
Bunuel197617 October 2010
This is a slight but highly enjoyable Bunuel film that makes for a fine companion piece to the later ILLUSION TRAVELS BY STREETCAR (1954) – with which it shares its leading lady (Lilia Prado) and its folksy 'road movie' theme While the IMDb gives its running time as being 85 minutes, the copy I acquired runs for just 74 (as does the R2 Yume DVD and the NFT print I caught back in January 2007); even so, the film somehow manages to lose steam in its latter stages and proceeds to end rather lamely!
Having said that, there is still much to savor here: Prado burns up the screen as a bombshell nymph who, sporting the skimpiest of outfits, teases the life out of the just-married protagonist (Esteban Marquez) and is herself pursued by a deluded politician (Manuel Donde'). Another performer that stands out is Luis Aceves Castaneda (who would go on to play Ricardo two years later in Bunuel's powerful version of WUTHERING HEIGHTS) as the laid-back bus conductor; in fact, both he and Donde' were singled out for recognition at that year's Ariel awards (as were the film itself, its original story and Bunuel for his direction)! Incredibly enough, such a seemingly simple storyline necessitated the collaboration of five writers(!) including poet Manuel Altolaguirre, an old acquaintance of Bunuel's from his student days, and on whose real-life experiences the film was based. Amusingly enough, the editor on this one, Rafael Portillo, would go on to direct all three "Aztec Mummy" movies!
ASCENT TO HEAVEN (equally well-known under the more prosaic title Mexican BUS RIDE) also competed at that year's Cannes Film Festival (where it surprisingly won the "Avant-Garde" award!) against such worthier contenders as Orson Welles' OTHELLO (the eventual co-winner, with Renato Castellani's TWO PENNYWORTH OF HOPE, of the Grand Prize), Vincente Minnelli's AN American IN Paris (1951), William Wyler's DETECTIVE STORY (1951), Christian-Jaque's FANFAN LA TULIPE, Vittorio De Sica's UMBERTO D, Elia Kazan's VIVA ZAPATA! and three more movies which still lie in my dreaded unwatched pile: Andre' Cayatte's WE ARE ALL MURDERERS, Alberto Lattuada's THE OVERCOAT and Gian Carlo Menotti's THE MEDIUM (1951)!
Eventful bus rides have long been a tradition in Cinema and the vintage British examples Friday THE THIRTEENTH (1933) and THE RUNAWAY BUS (1954) are two more I own but, alas, have yet to check out. In his treatment of this theme, Bunuel includes some pertinent parallel occurrences: a boy's childbirth and a little girl's funeral; a mother's birthday celebration (complete with musical interlude) and another one's lonely death; the missed meeting between Marquez and his mother is made up for in the way he, ironically, adopts treachery – by imprinting his mother's fingerprints on the unsigned legal document after her demise – to ensure that her deathbed wishes are observed!
Indeed, the protagonist's constantly thwarted attempts of reaching a notary in time for his moribund mother to put her will on paper – interrupting his own wedding so that he and his nephew will not be cheated out of their rightful inheritance by his two greedy brothers – looks forward not only to ILLUSION TRAVELS BY STREETCAR itself but also to Bunuel's much later Oscar-winning masterpiece THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972). Similarly, Prado's initially unsuccessful attempts to seduce Marquez recall Fernando Rey's unenviable situation in THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE (1977). Besides, the influx of American tourists into this Mexican everyday scenario predates similar occurrences in both ILLUSION and THE CRIMINAL LIFE OF ARCHIBALDO DE LA CRUZ (1955). Bunuel's indictment of progress is also amusingly brought out here in a sequence where the bus, stuck in the mud-banks of a stream, is eventually pulled out of its predicament by two oxen guided by a little girl (rather than a nearby tractor which is equally ineffective in these aquatic surroundings – despite having its driver held at gunpoint by the irritable politician)!
The deceptively spiritual title – not only is the island setting of San Jeronimito without a church (so that marrying couples need to sail to a neighboring island to consecrate their union) but it specifically refers to a particularly dangerous local mountain pass – could also be referring to the impending death of Marquez's mother; the fate that, according to a drunken Castaneda, awaits his saintly mother for bearing such a godless son; or even a metaphorical allusion to Marquez's ecstasy at the consummation of his lust for Prado (while stranded between two ledges on that very titular spot, no less)! His long-repressed desires had already been externalized in an extraordinary dream sequence where he imagines the bus as, first a field (where his dalliance is disturbed by a horde of stray sheep!) and then a stream (where his wife turns into his lover) and, finally, his mother is propped atop a pillar – 13 years before Bunuel's own SIMON OF THE DESERT! – peeling an apple (like the one that he and Prado had shared moments before) whose skin forms itself into a veritable umbilical cord all the way into her son's mouth! And what should Prado ask him when he wakes up from this reverie if not "Where you thinking of me?" – anticipating the famous opening dream sequence and its aftermath of Bunuel's biggest box office hit BELLE DE JOUR (1967)! Incidentally, another subtly surreal touch is having the bus and another vehicle face each other on a narrow mountain pass where neither of them can possibly reverse to let the other one through...and yet, inexplicably and off-screen, the situation has been resolved by the next shot!
As can be seen from the above, ASCENT TO HEAVEN is no mere populist picaresque comedy; however, I would still single it out as perhaps the ideal 'minor' Bunuel Mexican film to start out with for newcomers and it is unsurprising that the Spanish director himself is said to have been very fond of it.
Having said that, there is still much to savor here: Prado burns up the screen as a bombshell nymph who, sporting the skimpiest of outfits, teases the life out of the just-married protagonist (Esteban Marquez) and is herself pursued by a deluded politician (Manuel Donde'). Another performer that stands out is Luis Aceves Castaneda (who would go on to play Ricardo two years later in Bunuel's powerful version of WUTHERING HEIGHTS) as the laid-back bus conductor; in fact, both he and Donde' were singled out for recognition at that year's Ariel awards (as were the film itself, its original story and Bunuel for his direction)! Incredibly enough, such a seemingly simple storyline necessitated the collaboration of five writers(!) including poet Manuel Altolaguirre, an old acquaintance of Bunuel's from his student days, and on whose real-life experiences the film was based. Amusingly enough, the editor on this one, Rafael Portillo, would go on to direct all three "Aztec Mummy" movies!
ASCENT TO HEAVEN (equally well-known under the more prosaic title Mexican BUS RIDE) also competed at that year's Cannes Film Festival (where it surprisingly won the "Avant-Garde" award!) against such worthier contenders as Orson Welles' OTHELLO (the eventual co-winner, with Renato Castellani's TWO PENNYWORTH OF HOPE, of the Grand Prize), Vincente Minnelli's AN American IN Paris (1951), William Wyler's DETECTIVE STORY (1951), Christian-Jaque's FANFAN LA TULIPE, Vittorio De Sica's UMBERTO D, Elia Kazan's VIVA ZAPATA! and three more movies which still lie in my dreaded unwatched pile: Andre' Cayatte's WE ARE ALL MURDERERS, Alberto Lattuada's THE OVERCOAT and Gian Carlo Menotti's THE MEDIUM (1951)!
Eventful bus rides have long been a tradition in Cinema and the vintage British examples Friday THE THIRTEENTH (1933) and THE RUNAWAY BUS (1954) are two more I own but, alas, have yet to check out. In his treatment of this theme, Bunuel includes some pertinent parallel occurrences: a boy's childbirth and a little girl's funeral; a mother's birthday celebration (complete with musical interlude) and another one's lonely death; the missed meeting between Marquez and his mother is made up for in the way he, ironically, adopts treachery – by imprinting his mother's fingerprints on the unsigned legal document after her demise – to ensure that her deathbed wishes are observed!
Indeed, the protagonist's constantly thwarted attempts of reaching a notary in time for his moribund mother to put her will on paper – interrupting his own wedding so that he and his nephew will not be cheated out of their rightful inheritance by his two greedy brothers – looks forward not only to ILLUSION TRAVELS BY STREETCAR itself but also to Bunuel's much later Oscar-winning masterpiece THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972). Similarly, Prado's initially unsuccessful attempts to seduce Marquez recall Fernando Rey's unenviable situation in THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE (1977). Besides, the influx of American tourists into this Mexican everyday scenario predates similar occurrences in both ILLUSION and THE CRIMINAL LIFE OF ARCHIBALDO DE LA CRUZ (1955). Bunuel's indictment of progress is also amusingly brought out here in a sequence where the bus, stuck in the mud-banks of a stream, is eventually pulled out of its predicament by two oxen guided by a little girl (rather than a nearby tractor which is equally ineffective in these aquatic surroundings – despite having its driver held at gunpoint by the irritable politician)!
The deceptively spiritual title – not only is the island setting of San Jeronimito without a church (so that marrying couples need to sail to a neighboring island to consecrate their union) but it specifically refers to a particularly dangerous local mountain pass – could also be referring to the impending death of Marquez's mother; the fate that, according to a drunken Castaneda, awaits his saintly mother for bearing such a godless son; or even a metaphorical allusion to Marquez's ecstasy at the consummation of his lust for Prado (while stranded between two ledges on that very titular spot, no less)! His long-repressed desires had already been externalized in an extraordinary dream sequence where he imagines the bus as, first a field (where his dalliance is disturbed by a horde of stray sheep!) and then a stream (where his wife turns into his lover) and, finally, his mother is propped atop a pillar – 13 years before Bunuel's own SIMON OF THE DESERT! – peeling an apple (like the one that he and Prado had shared moments before) whose skin forms itself into a veritable umbilical cord all the way into her son's mouth! And what should Prado ask him when he wakes up from this reverie if not "Where you thinking of me?" – anticipating the famous opening dream sequence and its aftermath of Bunuel's biggest box office hit BELLE DE JOUR (1967)! Incidentally, another subtly surreal touch is having the bus and another vehicle face each other on a narrow mountain pass where neither of them can possibly reverse to let the other one through...and yet, inexplicably and off-screen, the situation has been resolved by the next shot!
As can be seen from the above, ASCENT TO HEAVEN is no mere populist picaresque comedy; however, I would still single it out as perhaps the ideal 'minor' Bunuel Mexican film to start out with for newcomers and it is unsurprising that the Spanish director himself is said to have been very fond of it.
¨Mexican Bus Ride¨is a nice picture by the great Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel about a thunderous bus-ride to a far city
ma-cortes18 September 2020
Attractive film about an adventurous bus-ride to a distant city to get his mom's will notarize , that's why the ill mummy wishes her little child inherits solace at a wealthy home , being well directed by the Spanish Luis Buñuel . It deals with a young and good man , justly married , called Oliverio Grajales (Esteban Mayo) finds his woman's honeymoon is cut short when he awares that his mother has fallen sick back at home . The newlywed couple rush there to discover the other brothers neglecting their mom in order to scheme their squandering of the inheritance . Then , the newlywed son bringing out to life the promise done to his mother , as he takes a journey by bus to find a public Notary . Along the way, he meets a baddie female who ruthlessly uses everyone in his purports and really seduces him , she's wayward Raquel (Lilia Prado) , who is extremely a selfish young , a manipulating babe who hates and seduces , eventually causing distresses , as well as uses her feminine wiles to tempt all around . The sultry , ambitious young attempts to break his marriage by seducing Oliverio to get her egoistic aims . Step by step she causes mayhem and discord among the members of the noisy bus . As the bus passengers become into a frenzied chaos and unrest . And to further complicate things he undertakes a race against time by taking the bus , as he drives it to his destination , while resisting Raquel's temptation.
The movie is well worthy thanks to razor-sharp performances as well as certain critical revealing the hypocrisies of modern society , in which brothers are on pins and attempt to catch their mother's inheritance , needles waiting to sort out her will , while a wayward girl uses the power of manipulation and eroticism to get her dark purports . Based on a story and adaptation by Manuel Altolaguirre , film producer too , as Luis Buñuel wrote that the script was actually adapted from the turbulent adventures that really happened to his friend Spanish poet Manuel Altolaguirre , while on a bus trip . The picture features exceptional work for Lilia Prado as Raquel , a similar role starred by Rosita Quintana in ¨Susana (1951) , she's magnificently charming as well as hateful playing the insidious girl who attempts to dissect the harmonious marriage by romancing Oliveiro . Her acting result to be a phenomenal precedent to the character who played Sue Lyon in ¨Lolita¨ or Carrol Baker in ¨Baby Doll¨ . While Esteban Mayo is acceptable as ecstatic Octavio , as he must take a long and dangerous bus trip to the city to contact a notary for his mother's last will and testament , while is faced with multiple temptations . Furthermore, a beautifully cinematography in subdued black and white by the great cameraman Alex Phillips who worked both , American and Mexican productions . Being shot on various locations in Puerto Marquez, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico and Estudios Tepeyac, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexicoc. And atmospheric and appropriate musical score by Gustavo Pittaluga, including Mexican songs.
The motion picture was competently directed by Luis Buñuel , belonging to his Mexican period . Buñuel wrote his autobiography, "My Last Sigh" in which detailed his exiled trajectory in Mexico and the troublesome shootings . After filming Spanish and French films as "Un Chien Andalou" (1929) , and ¨Age of Gold¨(1930) , ¨Hurdes tierra sin pan¨ (1936) , Buñuel went on his Mexican period in which he teamed up with producer Óscar Dancigers and after a couple of unmemorable efforts shot back to international attention with the lacerating study of Mexican street urchins in ¨Los Olvidados¨ (1950) , winning him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival . But despite this new-found acclaim, Buñuel spent much of the next decade working on a variety of ultra-low-budget films, few of which made much impact outside Spanish-speaking countries , though many of them are well worth seeking out . As he went on filming "The Great Madcap" , ¨The brute¨, "Wuthering Heights", ¨El¨ , "The Criminal Life of Archibaldo De la Cruz" , ¨Robinson Crusoe¨ , ¨Death in the garden¨ and many others . And finally his second French-Spanish period , usually in collaboration with producer Serge Silberman and writer Jean-Claude Carrière with notorious as well as polemic films , such as : ¨Viridiana¨ , Tristana¨ , ¨The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and his last picture , "That Obscure Object of Desire" . Susana rating : 7/10 . Essential and indispensable seeing for Luis Buñuel aficionados.
The movie is well worthy thanks to razor-sharp performances as well as certain critical revealing the hypocrisies of modern society , in which brothers are on pins and attempt to catch their mother's inheritance , needles waiting to sort out her will , while a wayward girl uses the power of manipulation and eroticism to get her dark purports . Based on a story and adaptation by Manuel Altolaguirre , film producer too , as Luis Buñuel wrote that the script was actually adapted from the turbulent adventures that really happened to his friend Spanish poet Manuel Altolaguirre , while on a bus trip . The picture features exceptional work for Lilia Prado as Raquel , a similar role starred by Rosita Quintana in ¨Susana (1951) , she's magnificently charming as well as hateful playing the insidious girl who attempts to dissect the harmonious marriage by romancing Oliveiro . Her acting result to be a phenomenal precedent to the character who played Sue Lyon in ¨Lolita¨ or Carrol Baker in ¨Baby Doll¨ . While Esteban Mayo is acceptable as ecstatic Octavio , as he must take a long and dangerous bus trip to the city to contact a notary for his mother's last will and testament , while is faced with multiple temptations . Furthermore, a beautifully cinematography in subdued black and white by the great cameraman Alex Phillips who worked both , American and Mexican productions . Being shot on various locations in Puerto Marquez, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico and Estudios Tepeyac, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexicoc. And atmospheric and appropriate musical score by Gustavo Pittaluga, including Mexican songs.
The motion picture was competently directed by Luis Buñuel , belonging to his Mexican period . Buñuel wrote his autobiography, "My Last Sigh" in which detailed his exiled trajectory in Mexico and the troublesome shootings . After filming Spanish and French films as "Un Chien Andalou" (1929) , and ¨Age of Gold¨(1930) , ¨Hurdes tierra sin pan¨ (1936) , Buñuel went on his Mexican period in which he teamed up with producer Óscar Dancigers and after a couple of unmemorable efforts shot back to international attention with the lacerating study of Mexican street urchins in ¨Los Olvidados¨ (1950) , winning him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival . But despite this new-found acclaim, Buñuel spent much of the next decade working on a variety of ultra-low-budget films, few of which made much impact outside Spanish-speaking countries , though many of them are well worth seeking out . As he went on filming "The Great Madcap" , ¨The brute¨, "Wuthering Heights", ¨El¨ , "The Criminal Life of Archibaldo De la Cruz" , ¨Robinson Crusoe¨ , ¨Death in the garden¨ and many others . And finally his second French-Spanish period , usually in collaboration with producer Serge Silberman and writer Jean-Claude Carrière with notorious as well as polemic films , such as : ¨Viridiana¨ , Tristana¨ , ¨The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and his last picture , "That Obscure Object of Desire" . Susana rating : 7/10 . Essential and indispensable seeing for Luis Buñuel aficionados.
7/10
zetes1 June 2002
Okay Mexican era Bunuel about a young man traveling by bus to his dying mother's hometown where she has a will on record. If he doesn't recover that will and have his mother put her thumbprint on it, his oldest brother, a very greedy man, will have the legal right to divide the property amongst the family. Most of the film is about the bus ride and the adventures the people on the bus have. There are some very nice scenes and touches, but it doesn't rank as one of Bunuel's strongest. It does, however, contain probably the best surreal sequence of any of his Mexican films. I haven't seen them all, so maybe I should just say a more prominent surreal sequence than his more famous Mexican films, i.e., Los Olvidados, El, or Nazarin (not counting anything he made after he returned to Mexico from Spain after Viridiana, i.e., The Exterminating Angel and Simon of the Desert, both of which are more "pure" surrealism).
For serious Bunuel fans only
rivethead8087 September 2006
I love Bunuel, and as such I had to see this film even though his Mexican period is my least favorite. I found it at the library (the only Bunuel film they had in fact). What we get is a very sloppy, poorly edited, and VERY poorly subtitled film.
In this little Mexican town, there aren't any legal ways to get married so as long as the groom has the to-be mother-in-law's blessing, then the couple is considered married. Well, before our new couple even get a mile out of town, they are informed that his mother is on her death bed and needs him to go to town to get the man who always takes care of the family's affairs. From there, we get on the bus.
On the bus, we have the silly driver, the town femme fatale, a politician, a couple who become new parents while on the ride, and a few other odd characters. You can see some of Bunuel's surreal effects shine through, if only slightly, in the mishaps along the way. For example, the bus driver tries to make the bus go across a lake at one point which of course it cant and it ends up being a 5 year old girl leading two oxen that saves the day. We also have a scene where the bus comes face to face with another vehicle (that cant go in reverse) on a steep mountain trail. After a few moments, everything is fine again, but we don't know why. Thats Bunuel for you.
Overall, I wouldn't say the film is bad. Its great to see all the stages that a director goes through, especially someone like Bunuel who is one of the finest directors to have ever lived. The biggest flaw with this film, which will hopefully be fixed once this gets a DVD release (Criterion are you listening?), is that the subtitles are quite possibly the worst I've ever seen. the first problem is that they're white and in some cases you cant see the far left or the far right of the words because they stretch off the screen, and the worst part is that you can tell that half of whats being said isn't even translated at all. Thankfully I know a tiny bit of Spanish and the gesticulations of the actors were good enough to allow me to get at least the gist of what was going on. For the most part, you might as well be watching a silent film.
This definitely ends up being an interesting glimpse into the life of 1950s Mexico. Its such a crude life but everyone seems to be happy. Its worth seeing, but only if you're a hardcore Bunuel fan or you are studying Mexican life of the 1950s.
In this little Mexican town, there aren't any legal ways to get married so as long as the groom has the to-be mother-in-law's blessing, then the couple is considered married. Well, before our new couple even get a mile out of town, they are informed that his mother is on her death bed and needs him to go to town to get the man who always takes care of the family's affairs. From there, we get on the bus.
On the bus, we have the silly driver, the town femme fatale, a politician, a couple who become new parents while on the ride, and a few other odd characters. You can see some of Bunuel's surreal effects shine through, if only slightly, in the mishaps along the way. For example, the bus driver tries to make the bus go across a lake at one point which of course it cant and it ends up being a 5 year old girl leading two oxen that saves the day. We also have a scene where the bus comes face to face with another vehicle (that cant go in reverse) on a steep mountain trail. After a few moments, everything is fine again, but we don't know why. Thats Bunuel for you.
Overall, I wouldn't say the film is bad. Its great to see all the stages that a director goes through, especially someone like Bunuel who is one of the finest directors to have ever lived. The biggest flaw with this film, which will hopefully be fixed once this gets a DVD release (Criterion are you listening?), is that the subtitles are quite possibly the worst I've ever seen. the first problem is that they're white and in some cases you cant see the far left or the far right of the words because they stretch off the screen, and the worst part is that you can tell that half of whats being said isn't even translated at all. Thankfully I know a tiny bit of Spanish and the gesticulations of the actors were good enough to allow me to get at least the gist of what was going on. For the most part, you might as well be watching a silent film.
This definitely ends up being an interesting glimpse into the life of 1950s Mexico. Its such a crude life but everyone seems to be happy. Its worth seeing, but only if you're a hardcore Bunuel fan or you are studying Mexican life of the 1950s.
Entertaining and formative film from early in Buñuel's Mexican period
agboone713 June 2015
Luis Buñuel, I believe, is one of the ten greatest directors of all time, and "Mexican Bus Ride" is a perfect example of why; not because it's one of his best films, but because it's one of his worst films, and yet it's wonderful. It's certainly not Buñuel at his most brilliant, but it may be something near Buñuel at his most delightful. This was a joyous viewing experience for me.
Buñuel began his filmmaking career in Paris, directing a short film in 1929 called "Un chien andalou", which was co-written by none other than the great surrealist painter, Salvador Dalí. It wasn't exactly the first film of its kind — René Clair's "Entr'acte" in 1924 was stylistically similar — but it was extremely audacious and a milestone in the attempt to bring true, uncompromising art to the cinema.
Buñuel and Dalí collaborated on one more film, "L'age d'or", in 1930, which was followed by Buñuel's documentary short, "Las Hurdes" (a.k.a "Land Without Bread"), in 1933. That marked the end of this early period in Buñuel's career. He would not make any more films for fourteen years.
In order to break back into the film industry, Buñuel had to accept a commercial, mainstream project that was, artistically speaking, beneath his dignity. And so his fourteen-year hiatus came to an end with the release of the 1947 Mexican film, "Gran Casino". It was the only truly bad Buñuel film I've ever seen, but it served its purpose: It got Buñuel on his feet again, and the subsequent run of Mexican pictures that Buñuel directed was fantastic.
The most famous films from this Mexican period in Buñuel's career came at the end of it, in the early '60s: "Viridiana", "The Exterminating Angel", and "Simon of the Desert", after which he returned to making mostly French films to finish his career, and his final three films — "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", "The Phantom of Liberty", and "That Obscure Object of Desire" — are perhaps his greatest masterpieces.
Still, the early films from Buñuel's Mexican period are a true pleasure to watch. Amongst them, we have more serious films like "Los olvidados", an uncharacteristic exercise in social realism, and "Susana", which in many ways was an early dress rehearsal for "Tristana". Those are probably the best films out of his first half-dozen or so Mexican films, but the others, excluding "Gran Casino", are very enjoyable films. They were lighthearted comedies, with varying degrees of drama. They include "The Great Madcap", "Daughter of Deceit", and "Mexican Bus Ride". While none of these are likely to be considered truly great films, and certainly aren't among Buñuel's best, they occupy a very special place in his body of work for me. I'll always have a soft spot for these films.
Of these six films that began his Mexican period, "Susana" was undoubtedly the Buñuel film that reminds us most of the later work that would ultimately define his identity as a filmmaker. It worked on one of Buñuel's most recurring themes: the sexual frustration — the full-fledged torment — that a man can undergo at the hands of a beautiful woman who withholds intimacy. "Tristana" and "That Obscure Object of Desire" are the best-known examples of this, but it's a constant theme throughout Buñuel's body of work, and we see it here in "Mexican Bus Ride", albeit very watered down compared to his later work.
In addition to the marvelous entertainment value of the film, "Mexican Bus Ride" stood out to me as being the first Buñuel feature to really include all of his hallmarks as a filmmaker — all of the elements of the cinema that would eventually constitute his essence as an artist. Granted, they all came in very small doses in this film — they were very unrefined at this point, and none of them fully developed — but they're present, nonetheless.
Buñuel was known as "the father of cinematic surrealism". His oneiric tone and surrealist mode of filmmaking were essential facets of his cinema, and he delivers a great dream sequence in "Mexican Bus Ride". It comes about halfway into the film, and it only lasts about five minutes, but it was a welcome addition to an already very enjoyable viewing experience.
Buñuel was also known as "the scourge of the bourgeoisie". He went beyond the requisite for a leftist filmmaker when he attacked both bourgeois society and bourgeois individuals themselves, generally through unrelenting, scathing satire. This aspect of his cinema isn't by any means present in "Mexican Bus Ride" to the extent that it is in, say, "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", but it's there, and it's not difficult to detect.
Surrealism, female sexual dominance, and satirization of the bourgeoisie — these, to me, are the three pillars of Luis Buñuel's cinema, and the most fascinating aspect of his films is observing the various ways in which he's able to intertwine these themes. In "Mexican Bus Ride", all three are somewhat diluted, as Buñuel hadn't yet fully discovered his identity as a filmmaker (or hadn't yet been allowed to fully express it, perhaps), but they're present, together, for the first time in his career in Mexico. Buñuel certainly wasn't able to be as extreme here in his expression of his ideas as he would be later on, and he goes light enough on these themes that, if we weren't looking for them — that is to say, if we didn't know Buñuel so well — we might not attach much significance to them. But for the veteran Buñuel fan, it's all there.
"Mexican Bus Ride" is a legitimately good film. With all his outright brilliance, I often forget how downright fun Buñuel could be, and this film was a great reminder.
RATING: 7.33 out of 10 stars
Buñuel began his filmmaking career in Paris, directing a short film in 1929 called "Un chien andalou", which was co-written by none other than the great surrealist painter, Salvador Dalí. It wasn't exactly the first film of its kind — René Clair's "Entr'acte" in 1924 was stylistically similar — but it was extremely audacious and a milestone in the attempt to bring true, uncompromising art to the cinema.
Buñuel and Dalí collaborated on one more film, "L'age d'or", in 1930, which was followed by Buñuel's documentary short, "Las Hurdes" (a.k.a "Land Without Bread"), in 1933. That marked the end of this early period in Buñuel's career. He would not make any more films for fourteen years.
In order to break back into the film industry, Buñuel had to accept a commercial, mainstream project that was, artistically speaking, beneath his dignity. And so his fourteen-year hiatus came to an end with the release of the 1947 Mexican film, "Gran Casino". It was the only truly bad Buñuel film I've ever seen, but it served its purpose: It got Buñuel on his feet again, and the subsequent run of Mexican pictures that Buñuel directed was fantastic.
The most famous films from this Mexican period in Buñuel's career came at the end of it, in the early '60s: "Viridiana", "The Exterminating Angel", and "Simon of the Desert", after which he returned to making mostly French films to finish his career, and his final three films — "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", "The Phantom of Liberty", and "That Obscure Object of Desire" — are perhaps his greatest masterpieces.
Still, the early films from Buñuel's Mexican period are a true pleasure to watch. Amongst them, we have more serious films like "Los olvidados", an uncharacteristic exercise in social realism, and "Susana", which in many ways was an early dress rehearsal for "Tristana". Those are probably the best films out of his first half-dozen or so Mexican films, but the others, excluding "Gran Casino", are very enjoyable films. They were lighthearted comedies, with varying degrees of drama. They include "The Great Madcap", "Daughter of Deceit", and "Mexican Bus Ride". While none of these are likely to be considered truly great films, and certainly aren't among Buñuel's best, they occupy a very special place in his body of work for me. I'll always have a soft spot for these films.
Of these six films that began his Mexican period, "Susana" was undoubtedly the Buñuel film that reminds us most of the later work that would ultimately define his identity as a filmmaker. It worked on one of Buñuel's most recurring themes: the sexual frustration — the full-fledged torment — that a man can undergo at the hands of a beautiful woman who withholds intimacy. "Tristana" and "That Obscure Object of Desire" are the best-known examples of this, but it's a constant theme throughout Buñuel's body of work, and we see it here in "Mexican Bus Ride", albeit very watered down compared to his later work.
In addition to the marvelous entertainment value of the film, "Mexican Bus Ride" stood out to me as being the first Buñuel feature to really include all of his hallmarks as a filmmaker — all of the elements of the cinema that would eventually constitute his essence as an artist. Granted, they all came in very small doses in this film — they were very unrefined at this point, and none of them fully developed — but they're present, nonetheless.
Buñuel was known as "the father of cinematic surrealism". His oneiric tone and surrealist mode of filmmaking were essential facets of his cinema, and he delivers a great dream sequence in "Mexican Bus Ride". It comes about halfway into the film, and it only lasts about five minutes, but it was a welcome addition to an already very enjoyable viewing experience.
Buñuel was also known as "the scourge of the bourgeoisie". He went beyond the requisite for a leftist filmmaker when he attacked both bourgeois society and bourgeois individuals themselves, generally through unrelenting, scathing satire. This aspect of his cinema isn't by any means present in "Mexican Bus Ride" to the extent that it is in, say, "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", but it's there, and it's not difficult to detect.
Surrealism, female sexual dominance, and satirization of the bourgeoisie — these, to me, are the three pillars of Luis Buñuel's cinema, and the most fascinating aspect of his films is observing the various ways in which he's able to intertwine these themes. In "Mexican Bus Ride", all three are somewhat diluted, as Buñuel hadn't yet fully discovered his identity as a filmmaker (or hadn't yet been allowed to fully express it, perhaps), but they're present, together, for the first time in his career in Mexico. Buñuel certainly wasn't able to be as extreme here in his expression of his ideas as he would be later on, and he goes light enough on these themes that, if we weren't looking for them — that is to say, if we didn't know Buñuel so well — we might not attach much significance to them. But for the veteran Buñuel fan, it's all there.
"Mexican Bus Ride" is a legitimately good film. With all his outright brilliance, I often forget how downright fun Buñuel could be, and this film was a great reminder.
RATING: 7.33 out of 10 stars
life is a road full of surprises
andrabem25 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very simple Buñuel film. It has something of an old television sketch comedy. It has a very light touch but beneath the surface it provides food for thought.
The story basically runs like this: A mother feels that she's dying. She calls her younger son Oliverio and asks him to protect her grandson Chuchito from the greed of Oliverio's older brothers. In order to do this he must go to another city where her lawyer is, and bring him, so she can sign a document to protect legally the rights of Chuchito. He takes the bus to go there, but the voyage will be one full of small accidents, incidents, rain, mud, river, birth, death, romance, celebration party and animals like sheep and hens etc.. This voyage will be life itself, the ride through life at the end of which Oliverio's perception of the world and his own feelings will have changed.
The ending of the film is conventional enough. People back in 1951 were expecting this kind of thing. But for those that can read between the lines Bunuel shows that what happens outwardly may be very different from the real thing we are feeling.
The story basically runs like this: A mother feels that she's dying. She calls her younger son Oliverio and asks him to protect her grandson Chuchito from the greed of Oliverio's older brothers. In order to do this he must go to another city where her lawyer is, and bring him, so she can sign a document to protect legally the rights of Chuchito. He takes the bus to go there, but the voyage will be one full of small accidents, incidents, rain, mud, river, birth, death, romance, celebration party and animals like sheep and hens etc.. This voyage will be life itself, the ride through life at the end of which Oliverio's perception of the world and his own feelings will have changed.
The ending of the film is conventional enough. People back in 1951 were expecting this kind of thing. But for those that can read between the lines Bunuel shows that what happens outwardly may be very different from the real thing we are feeling.
left me thinking about the righteous path
rogierr30 December 2001
Subida al cielo is a messy little story probably about the distractions and small miracles happening on everybody's way to heaven. It is short and seems simple, but there are sometimes strange things happening: has anybody the strength to go straight? If one does really go straight, one probably do not even have dreams. Dreams, wishful thinking and miracles like the improbable solution (by a little girl) for getting the bus out of the river with an ox instead of a tractor and the small miracle of the two vehicles that for no apparent reason suddenly CAN pass each other on the narrow path after a short meeting. Furthermore, Buñuel incorporates a few modest but funny dream sequences to emphasize that people (secretly) can think of other things, while they are on their certain way to heaven (the righteous path?). The English title 'Mexican Bus Ride' applies very well I guess: the whole is kind of low profile (probably also low budget :)
The acting is ok, but I never really got into the story, because the editing isn't good and there is no convincing mood to get into, although Buñuel uses some music in this movie. Miniature cars and sets make it fun to watch, but also do not convince. The movie feels more like an exercise than as a message from the heart, but I would like to see it again some time. 5/10
The acting is ok, but I never really got into the story, because the editing isn't good and there is no convincing mood to get into, although Buñuel uses some music in this movie. Miniature cars and sets make it fun to watch, but also do not convince. The movie feels more like an exercise than as a message from the heart, but I would like to see it again some time. 5/10
From a filmmaker with a startling journey still ahead
philosopherjack4 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Luis Bunuel was already in his early fifties when he made Mexican Bus Ride, and one can imagine an alternative history in which it would have been a sign of winding down, of easing into dawdling conviviality of the sort that characterizes the titular journey: the bus only gets going when it's full, adhering to no fixed schedule - progress gets interrupted along the way by a flat tire, by being stuck in mud, by a woman giving birth, by driver fatigue, and finally by a detour to a birthday celebration. A bit of frustration gets expressed at all this, but for the most part the passengers take it in stride, the journey being as important as the destination, and efficiency being a rather suspect commodity (during the mudbound episode, a pair of oxen acquit themselves much more effectively than a modern tractor). The passenger at the centre of our attention is Oliverio, heading to find and bring back a lawyer to document his dying mother's will, knowing that otherwise his scheming older brothers will manipulate her for their own self-interests - the urgency of the situation pulls him away from his wedding night, and exposes him to the relentless advances of a female passenger (to whom he seems to represent a pure sexual itch that she's determined to scratch). A few sharp Bunuelian strokes dispel any potential sense of complacency: a vividly imagined dream sequence drawing on Oliverio's faltering resistance to temptation; a willing no-strings-attached consummation in the midst of a storm; and a final few scenes in which he arrives back too late, but forges his mother's mark on some documents for the sake of implementing her expressed wishes, before drawing his wife close and uttering a fiery statement of intent. The movie's positioning of adultery as a galvanizing force and of manipulation of the dead as a morally righteous act still feels defiantly transgressive, a sign of a filmmaker with a startling journey still ahead.
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