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Expected more

A Masterpiece!

A lot of fun.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It is typical of every religion to preach that self-sacrifice is the path to find God. That giving up all the "pleasures" of the world will purify man. Wonder where those teachings came from, but it is quite a common trait, no matter what religion. Embrace asceticism, rid yourself of the so-called "worldly pleasures" or "sins" and achieve your spiritual or religious goals! The ultimate path to salvation is here! The Catholic teachings are no different, and Luis Bunuel has always been highly critical of organized religion. He has dedicated so many of his films as tools to launch razor sharp, scathing attacks on these beliefs or the Church in general.Loosely based on the real life story of the 5th century ascetic Saint Simeon Stylites, who spent 39 years atop a column ,"Simon of the Desert" is no exception. Picture a bearded monk, Simon (Claudio Brook), devoting his life to ascetic ways. He has already spent six years, six weeks and six days atop a pillar in the middle of the desert, praying for spiritual purification. He has gained a good amount of followers; mostly peasants, some priests and other village folk who believe that he has been blessed with special powers. They come to him for help or deliver some food from time to time. He is offered a brand new, taller pillar as a token of their faith and respect for his sacrifice. Simon continues his act of good faith, keeps delivering sermons and can even seemingly perform miracles.....Sounds like a serious, religious, deeply meaningful, preachy biography of a Saint? Not in the Luis Bunuel universe! Trust Bunuel to turn something that sounds very deep and heavy into a darkly humorous, absurd mock-fest that is unrelenting and uncompromising in its ways so much so as to scandalize half the audiences who could be believers! So this whole God-fearing stuff takes a dramatic turn as some of the priests and peasants start getting critical of Simon and think it is all in vain. Simon is taken to be an arrogant man by some, and a few others think he is faking it. Simon himself begins to deem his actions futile on several occasions. What's more...the Devil shows up too, and tries to "tempt" Simon in his many ways by appearing in the form of a beautiful woman (Silvia Pinal) in an attempt to seduce Simon out of his saintly ways! Will Simon yield to the temptation? Bunuel takes only about 45 minutes to drive his point across and does it with his masterful touch. Accompanied by Gabriel Figueroa's beautiful camera-work, Bunuel makes unpredictable transitions from realism to surrealism to hilarious absurdism all in the miniscule time frame that was available to him. Apparently Gustavo Alatriste, the producer could no longer fund the film for some reasons and that is how Bunuel was forced to abruptly end the film (with a bizarre ending that has been criticized in several write-ups, but do not be misled...it does have its place..and its own charm based on the interpretation), while in reality he wished to add more material to the film. Whatever the reasons, the end result is a highly original, savagely funny and one of the most eccentric works of cinema from the twisted mind of Luis Bunuel.Pay especially careful attention to certain scenes in which Simon mutters random religious ramblings on seeing some ordinary creatures like an insect (that has absolutely no idea of what is going on!) and later tries to do the same with an inanimate object but gives up! Or the scene in which Simon performs a miracle and gives a cripple a new pair of hands...and the eventual consequence of it! Or that brutally funny scene in which some of the priests don't seem to know the meaning of a particular Biblical reference. Every scene drips a lot of really clever writing....and there is no question that this is an exemplary work of genius from the great director.Bunuel's pick of actors add to the amazing experience with their superb performances, especially Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal and the midget Jesus Fernandez."Simon of the Desert" is the kind of film that leaves you wanting more. Another 45 minutes of running time perhaps? Check out this masterpiece...do not waste anymore time.Score: 10/10.

Simón del desiert is a Mexican 1965 film directed by Luis Buñuel. It is loosely based on the story of the ascetic 5th-century Syrian saint Simeon Stylites, who lived for 39 years on top of a column. It stars Claudio Brook as Simon. He lives as hermit on top of a column for self-inflicted sacrifice. He does this an attempt to get closer to God for this reason he has numerous peasant followers and clergymen support him in his sacrifice. They believe he is a saint and can perform miracles. The film chronicles him being tempted by the devil as he continues to live atop of the column, the actions of the supposed holy clergymen and his followers. Interesting enough Satan is portrayed by the lovely actress Silvia Pinal who tries various ways of making Simon lose his focus on God.

Louis Bunuel's "Simon of the Desert" is a great intro into surrealism is you have never viewed a surrealist film before. Simon is a very religious and spiritual man who takes worshiping God to the extreme (in my opinion). The locals seem to praise him but he encounters the devil in multiple forms. The way Bunuel presented the devil was quite funny and made the film a little more lighthearted, even though it still manages to offer up some social commentary on religion. I was shocked to see slight nudity in the film but it really made the film quite funny. I felt that the ending was a little bit too abrupt. I wanted some closure. However, after scrolling through some reviews on IMDb, I found out that Louis Bunuel actually ran out of funds and had to stop production early. What a shame! This film could have really turned into something magnificent. I already think very highly of this film though, it has a nice balance of crazy and sane. Still, Bunuel managed to work the ending in quite well. I had no idea it was not supposed to be so abrupt. This is definitely a film that is layered in symbolism and rich detail. I want to go back and watch it a few more times in order to truly understand what Bunuel was trying to say with this film. Other than the abrupt ending, "Simon of the Desert" is beautiful filmmaking. The characters are strong, the film has funny moments when you do not expect and it is a great example of the extraordinary work Luis Bunuel did.

Simon of the Desert is a religious based movie illustrating the difficulty of living a holy life and the temptations of sin. Simon, a man in the 4th century, lives on top of a beam for about 35 years giving the example of a sinless life for all to follow. He becomes known as a saint and people from all over came to visit him and get blessed by him. God has blessed him to remain holy, but the devil has other plans. Simon can recognize when the devil tries to tempt him to sin. Once, the devil came as a vixen and tried to seduce Simon sexually. This was one of the more comical scenes in the film. The tone of the movie was rather solemn and serious, and when she came, she began to tempt him by taking her top off and being absolutely ridiculous and humorous. Most people do not imagine the devil as a sassy Latin girl, but this was the form he came in. The devil's many stunts did not sway Simon. At the end, he was in a club full of sensual dancing in the 1960's, and this still did not prompt Simon to sway from his beliefs. Bunuel, the director, did an excellent job of filming, although it was only a short 45 minutes. He filmed the movie in black and white. The screen shots were also filmed creatively and effectively. The camera angles were used to make Simon look more holy and glorified, while making the woman look more dirty and sinful. This film was a balance between serious moral issues and humor. I enjoyed it and thought it was craftily made.