Los Olvidados aka The Young and the Damned, written and directed by Luis Bunuel - 8.8 out of 10

Los Olvidados aka The Young and the Damned, written and directed by Luis Bunuel
8.8 out of 10


You can find this classic motion picture on The New York Times' Best 1,000 Movies


The film has been nominated and won many important trophies, including one at the most relevant cinematic  competion, at The Cannes Film Festival of 1951", where Luis Bunuel has won The Best Director award.


The group of youngsters that are at the center of this black and white feature are indeed The Yound and The Damned.
They live in poverty, or arguably worse, in destitution.

Forced to find a way to survive, some of them resort to crime.
Even violence is used, when there is no other way.

Getting used with aggression, the ringleader even uses force gratuitously.
Or perhaps to signal that he is the top dog and all the others need to be aware and respectful.

The gang has no qualms about stealing, attacking if need be, a blind old man.
Granted, in this adverse, hostile environment, in a slum of Mexico City, the old man is not exactly a saint either.

Indeed, he is so aggressive, vicious and abusive to his protégé that instead of feeling sorry for him, the audience gradually learns to loath the man.
At one moment, the blind seems to be so perverted that he tries to take advantage of a girl who might not even be ten years old.

There is some hope in this quagmire.
One of the boys is wrongfully sent to a farm, where the facility operates as a correction center.

He is enraged by the injustice and spoils some eggs which are collected on the premises.
When the other juvenile delinquents protest and call the supervisor, he takes a bat and kills two poor chicken.

The manager of the facility is however a skilled operator, Emotionally Intelligent and deals with calm, kindness and extreme efficiency with the boy.
He asks if he feels locked and furious with the rest and without the means to take out his vengeance on the people, he has decided to kill the hens.
Surprised to find the adult has such access to the workings of his mind, the boy is impressed.

When the man gives him fifty pesos to buy cigarettes, the boy is proud and feels appreciated and loves the fact that he is trusted to get outside the gates.
Alas, out there, he meets with the killer who is very worried that his murder would be punished.

The older, vicious young man threatens the boy and then takes the fifty pesos and runs away.
Alas, violence, oppression and torment are the order of the day.

The characters have little hope of escaping from squalor.
Adults use children to operate machines at the fair and they generally abuse the younger ones.

The Young and the Damned is a very sad,  often depressing movie.