Nazarín **** (1959, Francisco Rabal, Marga López, Rita Macedo) – Classic Movie Review 11,369

Director Luis Buñuel’s powerful and darkly surreal 1959 black and white Mexican satirical drama Nazarín stars Francisco Rabal as Catholic priest Father Nazario, who is despised when he wanders among the poor in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. His followers are society’s outcasts, including a prostitute.

This atheist director’s attack on religion won the award from the International Catholic Cinema Office, who may have misunderstood Buñuel’s intentions. It was selected by the Vatican in the Religion category of its list of 45 great films.

It won the international prize at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival. Even better, Andrei Tarkovsky named it as one of his ten favourite films.

Also in the cast are Marga López as Beatriz, Rita Macedo as Andara, Jesús Fernández as Hugo, Ignacio López Tarso as thief in church, Luis Aceves Castañeda as Parricide, Ofelia Guilmáin as Chanfa, Noé Murayama as Pinto, Rosenda Monteros as Prieta, Victorio Blanco as old prisoner, Arturo Castro as Colonel, José Chávez as construction site manager, Cecilia Leger as woman with pineapple and Ignacio Peón.

It is written by Julio Alejandro (adapted for the screen by), Luis Buñuel (adapted for the screen by) and Emilio Carballido (dialogue), adapted from the novel by Benito Pérez Galdós.

Nazarín runs 94 minutes, is made by Producciones Barbáchano Ponce, is released by Películas Nacionales (1959) (Mexico) and Contemporary Films (1963) (UK), is written by Julio Alejandro, Luis Buñuel and Emilio Carballido, is shot by Gabriel Figueroa, is produced by Manuel Barbáchano Ponce, and scored by Rodolfo Halffter.

The restored film was shown in the Cannes Classics section of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

Buñuel said that the dying woman in the plague scene was inspired by Dialogue between a Priest and a Dying Man by the Marquis de Sade.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,369

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