Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageEl Bruto (1952)
Director: Luis Buñuel
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
One of the fascinating melodramas Buñuel made during his early years in Mexico. The landlord of a block of tenements tries to throw his tenants out to make way for a luxurious new house for himself and his mistress. To implement this, he hires a 'strong and devoted' slaughterhouse worker, and talks him into eliminating the community's leading resisters. Unusually, the film concentrates not on the heroic resistance of the tenants but on El Bruto himself, and his growing awareness of the iniquities of the paternalistic order he is helping. Buñuel sharpens the political edge by having El Bruto discover that his boss is also his natural father. The images are powerful, not to say - in a nightime chase sequence - magnetic, and the character of the reliable worker-cum-hired 'brute', who discovers who his real enemies are, unforgettable.Author:
Cast & crew
Director: Luis Buñuel
Cast: Pedro Armendariz, Katy Jurado, Rosita Arenas, Andres Soler full cast
Duration: 83 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now