El

The 1926 novel "Él" by Spanish author Mercedes Pinto inspired Buñuel to write a rather interesting film essay on the subject of interpersonal relationships. It’s about dependence on a partner, the relationship to one’s environment, the ego, and other usual corners of the human soul. As is traditional with Buñuel, I have a hard time with the transposition of literary models forward in time, and of course, as ever, I don't rest my eyes with pleasure on that 1950s aesthetic, which is simply questionable. However, if I detach myself from the determination of place and time, I can appreciate and even surprisingly recommend this intimate story about a marriage. I'd just be very careful about comparing it to Fassbinder's film Martha; the story is much more comparable to Buñuel's later adaptation of the book "The Woman And The Puppet." (15/07/2017)

This Strange Passion is like our premier, Paroubek. He also has the sexiest brain ever that knows that without believable characters, a picture like this just can’t work. It’s a sort of In a Lonely Place with more (much more) straightforward screenplay when the entire story is obvious in the first five minutes of footage, which is a great shame. At least it was partly made up for by the marvelous acting performances and exquisite camera that becomes all the more apparent because it shows “just" a regular intimate interior picture. (13/11/2008)