MovieChat Forums > Los santos inocentes (1984) Discussion > So seriously few posts for such a movie,...

So seriously few posts for such a movie, rated 8,3

posted 9 years ago by udippel
1 reply | jump to latest

Small masterpiece, yes. To me not a big one.
And yet, it deserves a good rating, and with currently 8,3 this is what it got.
The actors are by far better than the screenplay and the cinematography, I especially take my hat off for Francisco Rabal. Such a man of good looks and elegance, in l'Eclisse, and here a totally convincing Azarias. So anything but that!

The plot leaves to be desired, the different levels in time remain unclear, and not warranted. Why the whole factory scene to start with? In the end, Nieves has little to contribute to the story, and yet so well played.
The disgust for the bourgeois landowner, and the rest of his lousy friends could hardly have been stronger, a tad buñuelesque. Alas without any 'humor'. Nothing better than to treat us to endless hunting scenes, the only thing to lighten up that dreary life of his?
I was also struck by the almost unrealistic (feudal, but still 1960ies) total obedience 24/7, never any argument, always respectful, despite of the worst injustices meted out. No, I wouldn't buy this too sheepish behaviour by all and every of the underlings.

[Maybe this gets some discussion starting? ;-) ]

[–] Charlot47 8 years ago

All the praise in the reviews is correct and its rating is well deserved. Yet you are right in pointing out that, powerful and authentic though the film undoubtedly is in many ways, we must also address its flaws. As you say, the timeline is hard to follow when the story is split into four acts, each with its own chronology.

But I am not worried by the arrogance of the landowners and the subservience of the peasants, even if exaggerated for dramatic effect. While some parts of Spain in the 1960s were on a par with Western Europe, remote regions like Extremadura were still trapped in more primitive ways of life. Isn't the film suggesting that this backward-looking world of nobles and ecclesiastics lording it over the impoverished and uneducated common people is symbolic of Franco's regime? And aren't we given hints of the future, with the son wanting to be a mechanic in the city and the daughter getting a job in a factory?