Luis Bunuel

Today was quite a tiring day. At first there weren't that many people who came to attend the seminar but later on when it started, latecomers began to turn up. The film fest has a policy of not letting latecomers enter after a certain hour but I decided what the heck. These people came all the way to attend an indigenous seminar. I mean, how many people would be interested to attend such a talk?

I'm suppose to attend at least one seminar for my International Cinema assignment. I've decided to attend the one on Mexican film director, Luis Bunuel. Volunteering for the film fest has enabled me to watch various films which otherwise would've been impossible to obtain from QUT's library or any video shop. This includes being introduced to Bunuel's films. Today I got to watch Illusion Travels by Streetcar & Los Olvidados (The Young & the Damned). Even though I only watched parts of it, I was really impressed with Bunuel's style of directing.

As I sat watching Los Olvidados, I couldn't help thinking of its main theme i.e. juvenile delinquency & poverty. It's juvenile theme reminded me of Hollywood's Rebel Without A Cause starring James Dean & The 400 Blows directed by Francois Truffaut. There were many similarities & after browsing through imdb.com, I had a pleasant surprise. Los Olvidados was produced in 1950, way before Rebel & 400 Blows was made.