Great concept and Bunuel executes it well enough, my only complaint is the sub-par performance from Francisco Rabal.

"While the film itself remains a subtle attack on religious naivete, the director would never be as mindful of the possibilities of spiritual healing as he is here." - Ed Gonzalez

#707

A bit hammy, but it slowly grew on me as I watched it. There is a hint of humor in Nazarin's many faces, how he flickers between philanthropist and beggar, like a paradoxical conjuncture of Christian archetypes; how he crusades against superstition and annoyedly brushes off those who praise him as a holy man, only to pray or to preach repentance shortly thereafter. The inherent absurdity of priesthood is subtly emphasized, without the need to enhance the subject with mocking surrealism.

I can see it now: When I die and go to heaven, after I pass over the threshold and catch up with all the souls from life - who will I see but Bunuel, sipping a dry martini and arguing passionately with Michael over some arbitrary theological definition of the Eucharist. I'll introduce myself, we'll talk about his art. Then he'll take me aside, out of earshot of the saints, and whisper earnestly, "How the fucking hell did I get here?"

Starts rather badly, but as the pilgrimage begins the plot (and Paco Rabal's performance) really pick up.

892

Film about the pitfalls of actually following Jesus.

# 866

11 Nisan 09, 16:00. atlas sinemasi. 28. ist. film fest. & nazarin'in isa ile pararel giden hayati. toplumu taslayan, dolayli yoldan guzel olan bir din hakkinda film. filmin sonu? nazarin'e verilen ananas? bir nevi gecistir. bir aziz mertebesine ulasmaktir. bir aydinlanmadir. filmin sonu, 'gri' adli kisa filmimde camasir makinasinin islevi ve yer almasi bakimindan buyuk ilham vermistir bana.

Barf. I don't even like the performances

Buñuel plays this one pretty straight. Although it certainly has comedic moments, they're more silly gags and situations than the satirical skewering that fills most of his films. While his message that the world can be a cruel and unfair place is clear and effective, Buñuel leaves it up to the viewer to make a judgment on how they feel about the specific events in the film and I found that to be a pretty smart choice on reflection.

831

Good but not great. I didn't think it was as funny as it was apparently meant to be, but it was interesting.