Los Olvidados (1952)
95%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Luis Buñuel’s “The Young and the Damned” is a masterful portrayal of the dehumanizing cycle of poverty and juvenile delinquency in Mexico City. With an unrelenting gaze, Buñuel delivers a savage and unvarnished onion layer of social realism that is both horrifying and beautiful. The film mixes poverty and nightmares, putting the realism back in surrealism. Buñuel’s unflinching portrayal of the wretched lives of amoral slum kids is a harsh indictment of the society that fosters it. “The Young and the Damned” is a far-from-classic drama that has lost none of its power to shock and provoke, and it remains one of the first and best features about this issue.
The Young and the Damned” is a classic film that takes a hard look at the harsh realities of poverty and juvenile delinquency in Mexico City. Critics have praised the film for its unflinching portrayal of the lives of these young people, and for its indictment of the society that allows them to suffer. While some have criticized the film for being too heavy-handed or lacking in surrealism, it remains a powerful and important work that deserves to be seen by anyone interested in the human condition. So grab some popcorn, settle in, and prepare to be moved by this unforgettable cinematic masterpiece.
Production Company(ies)
Black Mandala Onetti Brothers Productions, Rusty Robot
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Unrated
Year of Release
2018
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:2.39:1
-
Runtime:NA
-
Language(s):Spanish
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 9, 1950 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 16, 2018
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Alfonso Mejía, Roberto Cobo, Stella Inda, Jesus Navarro, Miguel Inclán, Alma Fuentas, directed by Luis Buñuel, written by Luis Buñuel, Oscar Dancigers, Sergio Kogan, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Mark Chalon Smith, Michael Wilmington, Pauline Kael, Variety Staff, David Gritten, Anthony Quinn, Cole Smithey, Manny Farber, David Nusair, A.S Hamrah, Fernando F Croce, Emanuel Levy, Los Olvidados, juvenile crime, poverty, Mexico City, slums, criminal world, Pedro, El Jaibo, MPAA rating, Oscar Dancigers, Sergio Kogan
Worldwide gross: $20,418
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $24,027
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,119
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,620
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Roberto Cobo – El Jaibo
Stella Inda – La madre de Pedro
Jesus Navarro – El padre de Julián
Miguel Inclán – Don Carmelo
Alma Fuentas – Meche
Director(s)
Luis Buñuel
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Oscar Dancigers, Sergio Kogan
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (4)
Bunuel knew that poverty can’t be prettied up, that it needs to be shown as a dehumanizing cycle.
July 18, 2020
Mark Chalon Smith
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
A savage, beautifully wrought portrayal of Mexican juvenile delinquency and a harsh indictment of the society that fosters it.
July 18, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The most horrifying of all films about juvenile crime.
June 1, 2015
Pauline Kael
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
An objective, unrelenting closeup of life among some delinquents in a Mexican slum.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Casts an unblinking gaze on the wretched lives of amoral Mexico City slum kids without sentiment or preaching.
February 16, 2007
David Gritten
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Buuel was, among other things, the great dirty surrealist of cinema.
February 16, 2007 | Rating: 2/5
Anthony Quinn
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
You won’t find any pity in “Los Olvidados,” but you will experience the full effect of Buñuel’s unvarnished filmic system of delivering onion layers of social realism. Think for yourself.
January 11, 2021 | Rating: A+
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Olvidados, a turgidly heavy tract on hideous childhood, hasn’t enough Daliism…
June 19, 2019
Manny Farber
Artforum
…a far-from-classic drama that’s lost whatever cache it may have once possessed…
March 2, 2019 | Rating: 1/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
It put the realism back in surrealism, mixing poverty and nightmares.
November 29, 2018
A.S. Hamrah
n+1
Bowery Boys and Pinturas Negras, Luis Buuel’s lower depths
March 25, 2013
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
Bunuel’s chronicle of juvenile delinquents in Mexico is one of the first and best features about this issue.
April 11, 2011 | Rating: B+
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com…
Plot
In “The Young and the Damned,” a group of troubled street kids in Mexico City’s slums led by El Jaibo (Roberto Cobo) turn to pilfering, but when El Jaibo enlists the help of Pedro (Alfonso Mejía) to seek retribution against the man who allegedly sent him to jail, Pedro becomes entangled in a criminal world that threatens to destroy what little he has.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film or its cast.
Luis-Buñuel.jpg
