#land without bread

Las Hurdes

A surreal documentary about the lives and poverty of a small Spanish community.

 The imagery is suitably strong for the themes concerned and there are many memorable and striking moments to reveal the depths of human suffering in a case study involving a small community in a rich country. The cultural information was also significant as it’s both historically interesting and portrays the people realistically.

 The main issue is that the director relies on his surrealist roots which isn’t useful in one of the worst very real problems of society. By using artifice to portray actual problems it arguably belittles the suffering of the people represented which doesn’t seem necessary since the suffering is easily found authentically.

 The juxtaposition between the poor village and the images of the rich churches was effective and reminds the audience that government and religious institutions have vowed to help those in need and are refusing in favour of luxuriating in their own devotion to themselves. The message is one that cannot be repeated too much, that civilization is built on mutual help and fighting for a better quality of life together.

 Another of the worst parts of the enterprise is that the creators weren’t satisfied with simple dispassionate observation of human suffering, they also felt the urge to create some scenes of cruelty themselves by killing animals and even torturing one donkey by slathering it with honey to attract bees and wasps and then describe the pain is experiences as a result in uncensored detail and then blaming it on nature.

scorpio rising (1963, dir. kenneth anger): felt like watching a very gay, very 1950s fever dream. and then the nazi paraphernalia showed up.

the mad masters (1955, dir. jean rouch): kind of an upsetting watch, i’m glad it’s short. one the one hand, it others its subjects so much that it practically makes them look like aliens. on the other, there is some genuine critique of the colonialists powers who caused all the pain and suffering on display.

swing time (1936, dir. george stevens): i was having so much fun with this movie, fred and ginger are both on their a-game and absolutely sparkle when they’re together. and then, just as i’ve fully let my guard down, blackface! goddamn it.

land without bread (1933, dir. luis buñuel): another upsetting watch, though i do appreciate the satire of those ethnographic films that make up stories about their subjects whole cloth to fit them into the narrow vision western society has of them. and then i read up on this movie and found out they killed that donkey and goat just to get it on film. goddamn it. 

  Containment breeds estrangement

I hear you hearing remember me when mothballs hatch in the secret pocket battleship of your psyche