Los olvidados

Plot synopsis:
The film is about a group of destitute children and their misfortunes in a Mexico City slum. El Jaibo escapes juvenile jail and reunites with the street gang that he leads. El Jaibo's gang attempts to rob a blind street musician. They fail at first, but later track him down, beat him, and destroy his instruments.
With the help of Pedro, El Jaibo tracks down Julián, the youngster who supposedly sent him to jail. El Jaibo puts his arm in a fake sling and hides a rock in it. El Jaibo confronts Julián, who denies that he reported him to the police. Julián refuses to fight El Jaibo because it wouldn't be a fair fight with El Jaibo's arm broken. As Julián starts to walk away, El Jaibo hits him in the head with the rock. He then beats Julián to death and takes his money. El Jaibo warns Pedro not to report the crime, and since he shares Julián's money with Pedro, Pedro is an accomplice to the murder.
Pedro's mother resents her son's behavior, and shows signs that she doesn't even love him or care for him as a son. Pedro is extremely saddened by this and vows to start behaving better. He finds work as apprentice to a blacksmith. One day, El Jaibo comes to talk with him about their secret and, unbeknownst to Pedro, steals an expensive knife from the blacksmith's table. Pedro is accused of the crime and sent to a juvenile rehabilitation program, the "farm school," where he misbehaves and kills two chickens. The principal gives Pedro a test. He hands Pedro a 50 pesos bill to run errands with as a test of trust. If Pedro returns from the errands, he can be trusted. If he doesn't, the principal is out 50 pesos. Pedro accepts the offer and leaves with the intention to complete the errands. As soon as he leaves, he encounters El Jaibo, who steals the money. Upset that his attempt to be good was foiled again, Pedro tracks down El Jaibo and fights him. The fight ends in a stalemate, but Pedro announces to the crowd that it was El Jaibo who killed Julián. El Jaibo flees, but the blind man has heard the accusation and tells the police.
Pedro tracks El Jaibo down once again to murder him. El Jaibo kills Pedro. While fleeing, El Jaibo runs into the police. As El Jaibo tries to run away, the police shoot and kill him. Meche and her grandfather find Pedro's body in their shed. Not wanting to attract the police, they dump his body down a garbage-covered cliff. On their way, they pass Pedro's mother, who, though once unconcerned with her disobedient child, is now searching for him.

Tags: revenge, murder

Review:
No matter that the production, photography, direction and even the performances of relatively unknown actors were most than good, no matter that for the first time in Mexico someone produced a film totally different, with the influence of the Italian Neo-realism, No matter that someone had the guts to film the reality of the majorities living in big cities, Buñuel was severally criticized and even censored.
He was forced to shoot it, but again, fortunately the crude and strong outcome prevailed for the good of the history, to show us that a lot of times real life is not necessary a happy conclusion, that sometimes there are children with good intentions in wrong environments, that poverty is a monster that is consuming the majority, that horrible crimes could be committed with apparently cold blood; that sometimes someone (like Buñuel) could shake our conscience once a while.
All the characters, including a young boy caught up in a dangerous gang, his harsh mother, the gang leader and vicious bully, and a bitter old blind man, among others, and what transpires among them are expertly captured by Buñuel's camera.
Los Olvidados, translated as The Young and the Damned, is a treatise on the street-life of kids in Mexico City.
There are at least three characters who are of focus here, and three others on the sidelines with equal importance: El Jaibo, a rough young man who's grown up on the street his whole life, and who's picked up more than his share of wicked, ego-driven habits; "Big Eyes" as he's called by a Blind Man (he's credited as Lost Boy on this site) is a kid whose lost his father, and is taken in by the old-fashioned, hardened old man, who lives next to the girl Meche; and Pedro, the hero, is deep down a good soul, but with a side that just wants to roam the streets, at the carelessness of his estranged mother, who like her son is poverty stricken.
All through Los Olvidados, based on real events and real people from the streets, I kept on feeling for these people in the same way I did for the characters I saw in the neo-realism movies like La Terra Trema and Shoeshine.
While he became infamous for such films in the thirties like Un Chien Andalou and L'Age D'Or, and later for such originals like Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and the obscure Phantom of Liberty (the climax in that is something that could've inspired most gross-out comedies of late), this film displays his worth as a writer/director outside of the reputation he garnered in that he tells us the story, with the little details and complex emotions that the Italian directors were able to bring forth, while every once in a while reminding us that it is his brand of movie-making at work.
Indeed, this could be seen as out of place for such a straight-forward drama on torrents of youth that resonate generation after generation (this is inspired by neo-realism to an extent, yet probably inspired the likes of Clockwork Orange and even the recent City of God), however we get an inkling of what Bunuel is trying to tell us- these are real people in real settings and in a somewhat melodramatic story set in times of economic drought and such, and feel for them as I do - but don't forget, it's only a movie.
It is also a masterful combination of gritty realism and Buñuel's surrealism (young Pedro's dream of Virgin Mary with a face of his mother whose love he desperately needs but never knows).
All the characters, including a young boy caught up in a criminal world but trying to be good, his tired mother who does not have time to love her children, the brutal and cruel gang leader with his own story that breaks your heart are not just wonderfully written and acted, they are absolutely real and would stay with you long after the film is over.
Buñuel uses his intuitive graphics and metaphoric sequences, rather than fancy lighting and cocky cinematography, to emphasize his concern with the boys (the protagonists: the 'forgotten ones') and his aversion to the apathy of the fathers (who haven't much screen time) who mind-numbed think about sanctions rather than the causes of the delinquency.'Los Olvidados' deals with the distance between two generations, especially the distance between fathers and sons.
Do the lives of 'the forgotten ones' have a direction at all, apart from trite survival?Although M (1931, Fritz Lang) already focuses on the psychological problems that delinquents can have (first serial killer on celluloid ever), the other movies mentioned above are all younger, so I tend to believe that Los Olvidados was a groundbreaking film and inspired the other filmmakers.
Finally Los Olvidados reminded me of 'Rocco e i suoi fratelli' (1962, Visconti), where a family moves to the city too and a disciplinary father figure lacks.This is another Buñuel film that seems to have no precise beginning and no end.
Atheist, Marxist, Freudian, Surrealist, anarchist, fetishist, satirist, or Spaniard, Luis Buñuel was all these or more One of the greatest of all filmmakers, Buñuel expressed an extraordinary personal vision of the world through an exceptional self-effacing special taste, creating a body of work unequaled in its abundance of meaning and its power by any otherIn 1946, Buñuel moved to Mexico where, between more conventional assignments, he summed up his creativity with a vengeance His first masterpiece of this prolific period, "The Young and the Damned" was a masterpiece of social surrealism and the founding work of third world barrio repulsionPortraying the distress of delinquents in MexicoCity's streets, he admitted the effects of shockingly cruel environment but declined to glamorize his victim-heroes: the gang torments a blind beggar who is himself a skillful paedophile, while a Freudian dream the most 'innocent' boy fights a friend for his mother' s sexual favorsThe film is powerful enough to make a one firm man weep or encourage a true-believer to lose hope Once seen, its disturbing images can never be forgotten.
"Los Olvidados" focuses the drama mainly in the bandit 'El Jaibo', justarrived from a reformatory (where he learnt 'new techniques' of robbery), Pedro (Alfonso Mejía), a boy rejected by his mother and Ojitos (Mario Ramirez), abandoned by his family and the new comer to the group, showing a few hopeless days of a group of marginal youths, in the slums of Mexico in 1950, with the leadership of 'El Jaibo' (Roberto Cobo).
After the success of his comedy The Great Madcap (1949), he was commissioned by producer Oscar Dancigers to make a serious film about child poverty in Mexico City, and out of it came Los Olvidados, or The Young and the Innocent, to give it it's American title.
Bunuel apparently spent months disguised as a homeless amongst the poverty- stricken children of the slums in order to research, and if that tale is true, it certainly came off, as Los Olvidados is one of the best and most realistic depictions of the innocent turning to crime in a fit of desperation.The film follows three children in the same slum.
Pedro struggles to keep himself out of trouble and leaves home after being accused of stealing a knife, only to find his and Jaibo's paths repeatedly crossing.At its heart, this is pure neo-realism, sharing its tone most obviously with Vittorio de Sica's masterpiece The Bicycle Thieves (1948) in exposing poverty and class divide as the main cause of criminality, due to the ill education and the hopelessness of the young.
Best known for his mocking of the upper-classes (the bourgeois were clearly as fascinating to Bunuel as they were repugnant), here he stays in the slums, promoting as much sympathy for its filthy lead characters as hatred.Jaibo is a true monster, raised without parents, he bullies his way through life, grasping any opportunity that presents itself (he even manages to seduce Pedro's lonely and overworked mother, and rob a legless man).
It is Pedro who is the beating heart of the film, especially when he leaves home and we witness the state of the lower- classes from his eyes and how they are viewed (in one powerful sequence, an upper class man obviously propositions him for sex, but we only see their exchange, as we watch them through a window).
Sadly, most of the characters could be located in any major city in today's times -- but now they'd also probably have handguns, if the film was moved to the US.Bunuel does not appear to let a lot of behavior remain off the screen.
This film is truthful because Buñuel showed on the screen everything that he saw on the streets of Mexico and it's relevant because much of what is shown in it happens nowadays in a lot of countries all over the world.
There is no hero in the movie ,everybody is presented as individuals, trying to survive.The movie well present what can happen with children, who grows without family support and love, especially without mothers love.It took me a while to adjust and try to understand Jaibo's character and reasons for his brutal actions as well as behaving afterward.The only light scene in the movie was when Pedro was sent to store by his principle, but the moment of hope for Pedro lasted just a second , until he run into Jaibo.
Bunel beautifully blends a driving, fast paced plot, with brilliant portrayals, and surrealistic dream sequences (for background see Un Chien Andalou) to bring across the struggle within this Mexican street gang, as well as the struggle to escape the harsh system that surrounds them.This film is also know by the name: The Young and The Damned..
The fact is that human life is the least cost in terms of bare survival.The director shows us a completely degraded society where poverty is commonplace, delinquency and crime are ways of survival, and children have long been lost.
Then we follow the lives of two of them, "Ojitos" (Eyes), who has been dumped by his father and is picked up by a blind man to use him as his guide-dog, and Pedro, a good-for-nothing kid who never knew his father and who brings nothing but misery and sorrow to his single mother-of-five by associating himself with the district's most notorious juvenile delinquents.
One of the earliest works of famed surrealist director Luis Bunuel's career, Los olvidados was an international hit primarily due to its portrayal of inner city Mexican children living on the brink of death due to immense poverty and crime.
The plot focuses on the conflict between two young boys, Jaibo, a recently escaped juvenile delinquent, and Pedro, whose mother struggles to raise three other children and seemingly has no affection or attention left for her eldest.
Los Olvidados is a movie by Luís Buñuel, he made it in Mexico and it is one of the best depictions of the lower class in Mexico city I've seen so far.I liked Amores Perros, I thought it was an entertaining movie but now that I'm seen films with another type of brain, even I don't know how to explain what I just said, I now know how that movie wouldn't exist if it wasn't for this one.The characters are an instant classic, I want them to become action figures to have them all display somewhere in my house, I'm talking about Ojitos, El Jaibo, Pedro, Pelón and many more.
The story smells like streets, like gangs and it shows how real life can teach you more than your average school.This movie is so unique because it doesn't have your typical goodies and baddies, every character has its own reason to act, they are in survival mode because living in the streets is tough and this is the way to go through life if you choose this path.This is a movie about the lack of love and how a dysfunctional family and the lack of affection can make you choice the wrong path.
It breaks the 4th wall (all about an scene with eggs), it brings surrealism to the foreground in a dream sequence, it has great acting and also a cast that could have been the brat pack of Mexico in the 50's, genuine young kids with a cool vibe.The direction is impeccable, another reason to show that you don't need to have a big budget to come with an elegant movie, all in all a masterpiece in all ways.PS: If you can PLEASE find the alternate ending to learn how studio executives can ruin your movie :).
"Los olvidados" is probably Buñuel's best film from his Mexican period; it's a depressing study in juvenile delinquency, set in the slums surrounding Mexico City.
Los olvidados made me fan of Luis Bunuel because i felt I m seeing a dream even tough the movie is harsh reality .
We are all corruptible, we are all despicable, but we also have a capacity for innocence and good.The movie mainly follows Pedro, a boy who struggles on the streets of Mexico City to survive.
As an outspoken believer in critical thinking at all times, Buñuel's Los Olvidados is a must for all!Perhaps the most memorable character of the whole movie is El Jaibo.
Though Buñuel is famous for his surrealist tendencies, aside from one dream-sequence in the film, the movie's only surrealist quality is the overwhelming sense that a place without any love or compassion could not possibly exist, yet here we are seeing exactly that.
Los Olvidados is a pessimistic view of life for children who have been orphaned and are living in the streets of Mexico.
There is Ojitos, the boy who has been abandoned by his father; and Pedro, the boy who has been rejected by his mother because he was a product of rape.The movie leaves you with a sense of hopelessness as the worst character (Jaibo) gets away with murder, Ojitos remains fatherless and Pedro, the orphan character who was on his way to redemption and who has finally won his mother's love, is ultimately unsuccessful.
It's a classic portrayal of rebellion and youth mentality: life and society exist to exploit and the gang takes advantage of that, but Bunuel carries it with such close impassiveness that the movie creates an instant familiarity with the characters as they are introduced.After some opening scenes the movie begins to focus on the moral contrasts between Jaibo and Pedro, beginning when Pedro sees Jaibo accidentally kill someone he suspects was responsible for landing him in jail.
Taking place in the poor areas of Mexico City in the 1950's the film tells the story of several children and their literal struggle for survival.
"Los Olvidados"-Tells the story of lost children living in the slums of Mexico City.
Los Olvidados aka "The Young and The Damned" Directed by Luis Bunuelos is one of the first films that reveals the bottom of life which is poverty.
In this "Los Olvidados" (the forgotten ones) Luis Buñuel brings up a detailed portrait of the young criminals in Mexico City back in the late 40's.
"Los Olvidados" 1950 by Luis Bunuel was mainly focuses on the life of a boy between the ages of 8-10 living in Mexico.
"Los Olvidados" is a film about poverty and juvenile crime in the poor parts Mexico City.
Los Olvidados (1950) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Luis Bunuel's bleak and sometimes depressing look at poverty in Mexico and the children it hurts.
50 years later we have films like City of God, and very little progress has been made in terms of the society in which these kids live.
POSSIBLE SPOILERSLuis Bunuel has done it again with "Los Olvidados."  The film explores life in Mexico City's slums with a gang of juvenile delinquents.Jaibo, an older "delinquent," leads the gang of boys in a life of thievery, dishonesty, and crime.
In one scene Pedro killed a chicken inside a delinquent boys school and it showed how he was soon acting like another character named Jaibo.
"Los Olvidados" shows that it is often the social ills already in existence in our societies, an example being the complete lack of care and love Pedro's mother has for Pedro in most of this film, that can contribute to creating children who have social deficits – often creating anti-social and sociopathic personalities and tendencies – such as that portrayed by the characters of "El Jaibo", Pedro, and Julian.
"Los Olvidados" shows that it is often the social ills already in existence in our societies, an example being the complete lack of care and love Pedro's mother has for Pedro in most of this film, that can contribute to creating children who have social deficits – often creating anti-social and sociopathic personalities and tendencies – such as that portrayed by the characters of "El Jaibo", Pedro, and Julian.
To me, "Los Olvidados" showed a dystopian society – very much like the film "A Clockwork Orange", in which gangs of morally twisted youths know of nothing better else to do with their time than to take out their frustrations on everyone and anything they can.
To me, "Los Olvidados" showed a dystopian society – very much like the film "A Clockwork Orange", in which gangs of morally twisted youths know of nothing better else to do with their time than to take out their frustrations on everyone and anything they can.
---------This Review May Contain a Spoiler-------- "Los Olvidados", directed by Luis Buñuel, portrays the life of Juveniles living in the slums of Mexico during the 1950's.
For example, Pedro, a caring young man living with his mother in the movie, has no family support, role models, or father.
Los Olvidados is a film centered on the life of a young boy named Pedro.
Due to the absence of love from his mother, Pedro joins other kids on the street and lives a life of violence.
In Los olvidados, Buñuel presents a society without love as a film with out emotion.