Director
Luis Buñuel
Leading Actors/Actresses
Alfonso Mejía, Roberto Cobo
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Estela Inda, Miguel Inclán
Genre
Drama
Language
Spanish
Awards
Nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source
Date of Release
1950
Producer
Óscar Dancigers
Setting and Context
Mexico City slum - 1950
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Pedro
Tone and Mood
Dramatic and Serious
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Pedro. Antagonist is Jaibo
Major Conflict
Jaibo has killed Julian and doesn't want Pedro to tell anyone.
Climax
Pedro goes to work in order to live better after Julian is killed, but Jaibo steals a knife from work and Pedro is blamed for it and sent away. Jaibo kills Pedro after Pedro tells everyone that it was Jaibo who killed Julian. Jaibo is shot and killed by the police.
Foreshadowing
The pretend bullfighting at the beginning of the film foreshadows that these kids are playing an imaginary game, so they believe, with deathly consequences.
Understatement
It is understated that Don Carmelo is devious until we see him trying to touch Meche.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
The film is an allusion to the grave effects of poverty upon a city. How a great city looks big and great on the outside, but it has left behind its people to starve and die.
Paradox
Jaibo is the leader of the gang because he is the toughest. Paradoxically, he only preys on the weakest people in society.
Parallelism
Pedro's mother wears black when she comes to the reform program to see Pedro. This is when she first believes her son is innocent. Her black dress is paralleled at the end of the film when she is searching for her son who has already been killed.
