Tristana

Star Review

The ugly duckling of Luis Buñuel's miraculous late flowering, unfairly overshadowed by Belle de Jour and Discreet Charm, but more unsettling than either. Based on a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós, one of Buñuel's favourite writers (he'd earlier turned his Nazarin into a masterpiece), it's a meticulously calibrated study of hypocrisy and obsession, in which the elderly freethinker Don Lope (Fernando Rey) concocts an intellectual justification for gratifying his lust for his ward Tristana (Catherine Deneuve) only to find the tables turned on him when her desires turn out to be far more perverse than he can handle, especially after she has her leg amputated. Buñuel invests this melodramatic tale with a typically merciless eye, augmented with numerous personal touches – Don Lope and Tristana were apparently inspired by the characters (if not the behaviour) of his father and younger sister, while Buñuel himself had recurring dreams of his severed head substituting for the clapper of a church bell, which he turned into one of the film's few overtly Surrealist touches.

Michael Brooke on 1st April 2005

View all 55 of Michael Brooke’s reviews

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Film Description

Bunuel takes his customary swipes at religion and other social niceties in this comedy of obsession in which a womanizing aristocrat comes to regret having seduced his ward. Rey's performance is as enjoyable as ever. Perfectly cast and beautifully photographed, Bunuel continues his exploration of freedom of choice that is regulated by unconscious desire.

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Starring the wonderful Catherine Deneuve, this is one of the cherishable final flowerings of Luis Bunuel's last period: sharp, sardonic and completely characteristic o... more >

Starring the wonderful Catherine Deneuve, this is one of the cherishable final flowerings of Luis Bunuel's last period: sharp, sardonic and completely characteristic of the director’s unique vision. < less

View all 349 of Barry Forshaw’s reviews

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DVD Extras

• Both Spanish and French language versions included.

Film Details

Cast

Catherine Deneuve, Fernando Rey, Franco Nero

Technical Details