Susana

A Buñuel film with a telenovela plot but still undoubtedly his. The acting is a very good fit for the story, especially Quintana as the devilish Susana. While it may not bear many of Buñuel's visual trademarks, it clearly has his wit and cutting mockery through out the script.

More or less satirical melodrama functioning as a critique of domestic and, let's say, theologico-political power, but a multi-dimensional one in which the final scenes reveal, through a process of elimination, that its locus may not be where it seems at first glance. Going beyond Buñuel's intent and times, other questions could be raised, such as about the distinction and relationship between power and control, or power and knowledge, or the synchronic and the diachronic. Really quite complex.

One of the very best of Bunuel's "normal" films. At face value, it's a spirited melodrama, but there's plenty of Bunuel's signature on it. Twisted sexual politics, malicious manipulation, class commentary, a complex misogyny, and the ending houses a delicious irony just beneath the surface. Furthermore, it's shot as well as any Hollywood feature of the same era, and the actors are all more than adequate.

She was simply delicious...

Beware unexpected guests, in particular those with a full bosom and a tendency to flash their shapely legs. In other words, beware the devil woman! I am always in awe of Buñuel's ability to conjure unfulfilled erotic desire in a subtle yet explicit way; forget the 'Lubitsch touch,' the 'Buñuel touch' is where it's at.

Excellent film about what an attractive female psychopath can do to a family.

"While the melodrama is certainly potent, Susana lacks considerable bite." - Ed Gonzalez

Outstanding among Buñuel's early work. Susana is pretty straightforward but maintains a certain intensity throughout. I even liked the naive ending for its simplicity and perhaps, humor. The very hierarchical family, under the patriarch Guadalupe, is not unsympathetic, but watching it get shaken into disarray by a temptress is nevertheless heartening.

A lot to love about Susana, but was she raw enough....?