Los Olvidados

“Los Olvidados” is a 1950 social-realist criticism directed by Luis Buñel. The film follows the life of Pedro, a young, destitute boy living in the slums of Mexico City, and who, despite being inherently good is unable to overcome nor escape the negative influences that surround him. The film begins with the release of Jaibo from a juvenile penitentiary who then rejoins his gang and seeks the young boy who put him into custody. Jaibo’s murder of the young boy and Pedro’s cooperation with the antagonist provide the action for the plot. 

It will be argued that Buñel’s film is a confronting look at the objective cruelty of life for a huge number of Mexicans, who at the time were left behind by a country on the brink of urbanisation as well as a deep criticism of capitalism’s failed attempts to modernise a deeply divided Mexico and the fake image portrayed by Mexican cinema. 

“Los Olvidados” was at best considered a challenge to the traditional Mexican cinema aesthetic, which exclusively incorporated folklore or national symbols, and at worst it was a subversive attack on the Mexican cinema naivety in regards to huge social issues faced by the country. 

Much like essentially all of Latin-America, Mexico has long suffered from huge economic disparity and nowhere is this more visible than in Mexico City, where one finds exorbitantly wealthy Bourgeoisie and also the characters whom “Los Olvidados” follows, the slum-dwellers. This social-realist look at 1950’s Mexico City is an important departure from the traditional international image perpetrated by Mexican cinema. 

It is not far from the truth to describe “Los Olvidados” as an assault on the viewer. In the literal sense, in the first scene a young boy, behaving like a bull charges towards the camera while snorting, meanwhile at the Farm School, Pedro launches an egg which collides directly with the camera and yolk runs down the lens. These two rather crude images are important as they bring the viewer into the violent and confronting world of the characters. 

It is especially important to note that general hardness and lack of emotion that the older characters display. Even Pedro’s own mother has been so hardened by her bleak existence that she essentially disowns him. This is also despite Pedro’s innate goodness and usually good intentions. Here Buñel comments on the objective cruelty of the world. One must ask the question, where in the cycle does Jaibo come from. Was he also once innately good, but was twisted by the unforgiving nature of the slums. We see Pedro unable to overcome the negative influence of Jaibo mixed with his entrapment in the slums. Meanwhile, even young Julian is killed and importantly, Buñel doesn’t allow really any time for pity or empathy. The same is seen with the death of Jaibo. Despite Jaibo hearing his mother’s voice when being shot, Buñel ensures we feel no pity for him as the frame instantly changes to Pedro’s body being carried away. 

Buñel’s clinical precision and documentary like story-telling give the audience a desensitised look at this type of life. We are not allowed to feel pity, or even empathy for the outrageously unfair existence these people have. Instead we are left in shock at the ability for cruelty of children and the lack of escape, even Pedro’s dream sequence is violence filled and traumatic. 

Through his use of surrealist film technique Buñel criticises many aspects of 1950’s Mexican society. The uneven impact of capitalist modernisation, the superficiality of Mexican cinema and the non-discriminating cruelty of life.