A tough young man, who helps to kick poor people out of their houses, falls in love with a girl. She lives with her father in the building about to be demolished.
Acting
Pedro Armendáriz physically embodies brute force cracking open to tenderness
Direction
Buñuel's documentary realism makes the melodrama hit like a gut punch
Cinematography
Shadows and slaughterhouse grime that reek of poverty and desire
Director
Luis Buñuel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Buñuel made this during his 'commercial' Mexican period, proving he could work within studio systems while still smuggling in class critique. The film's frank depiction of poverty shocked contemporary audiences.
Katy Jurado had just finished 'High Noon' in Hollywood and returned to Mexico specifically to work with Buñuel—she considered this her most emotionally demanding role.
MX
