Simon of the Desert (1965)

Original title

Simón del desierto

Directed by

Luis Buñuel

Genre

satirical film

Country

Mexico

Runtime

45 min

Rated

15

Rating

7.7 of 10 from 240 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A devout ascetic spends years living atop a pillar in the desert. He is visited by believers and tempted by the devil who takes the form of a woman.

surrealsatiricaldeadpancerebralabsurddryslow-pacedcontemplativewry

What happens

Simon of the Desert (Spanish: Simón del desierto) is a 1965 Mexican surrealist satirical comedy film co-written and directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Claudio Brook and Silvia Pinal. It is loosely based on the life of the ascetic 5th-century Syrian Christian saint Simeon Stylites, who lived for 36 years on top of a pillar. The screenplay was co-written by Buñuel and his frequent collaborator Julio Alejandro. Following Viridiana (1961) and The Exterminating Angel (1962), Simon of the Desert was the third, and last, of Buñuel's films to feature Pinal and be produced by Gustavo Alatriste, Pinal's husband at the time. It was also the final film of Buñuel's Mexican period before he returned to Europe. Today, it is generally acclaimed by film critics, who consider it to be one of the director's most demonstrative works. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• The Exterminating Angel (1962)
• Los Cuervos están de luto (1965)
• Los fantasmas burlones (1965)
• A Day with the Devil (1945)
• El señor doctor (1965)
• Nazarín (1959)
• El Esqueleto de la señora Morales (1960)
• Adventure at the Center of the Earth (1965)