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Written by: Luis Alcoriza, Luis Buñuel (written by), Max Aub, Juan Larrea, Pedro de Urdimalas (dialogue collaborator, uncredited)
Directed by: Luis Buñuel
Starring: Stella Inda, Miguel Inclán, Alfonso Mejía, Roberto Cobo
Rated: NR [PG-13]
Watch the trailer
Plot
A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City as the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.
Verdict
It's a harrowing tale about the forgotten youth living on the streets of Mexico City. There are no good options. It's get attacked by other kids or get arrested. Most of them just want affirmation but their parents are out of the picture or working all day to support their families.This was innovative at the time, but with all old movies those innovations dull over time. It's easy to write this off as just another old movie despite that as this is now more of a film class movie.
It depends.
Review
A bunch of kids live on the streets of Mexico City. They're just mean. First they try to rob a blind beggar and then they attack him and destroy his musical instruments.
This is a view of what it's like to live in the slums. The children learn violence, and it becomes all they know. If someone wrongs you, you've got to get them back. Pedro is one of these kids having a tough time. He has a nightmare about the violence, and he resolves to get a job to change his mother's opinion about him. She thinks he's just another criminal.
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| Roberto Cobo, Alfonso Mejía play El Jaibo, Pedro |
Pedro is detained, but of course he doesn't talk to the police. Like the title of the movie, his destiny is already determined. How do you escape a life of violence? Pedro can't rat on his friends or they'll beat him. If the cops get you it's a different set of consequences. At least that won't follow you around as opposed to being a snitch. He seeks affection that he never gets because he's trying to fit in with the other kids in the neighborhood. There's not good choices or endings. It's all tragedy.
A movie like this doesn't seem revolutionary now, but you have to remember it's seventy-five years old. It looks much different from that standpoint.
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