Ensayo de un Crimen (1955)
Genre: Comedy / Crime
Duration: 89 minuten
Alternative title: The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz
Country:
Mexico
Directed by: Luis Buñuel
Stars: Ernesto Alonso and Rita Macedo
IMDb score:
7,6 (6.463)
Releasedate: 1 January 1955
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Ensayo de un Crimen plot
A man sees it as his great life goal to become a notorious serial killer of women. He won't stop until his goal is reached, but not everything goes according to plan.
Actors and actresses
Archibaldo de la Cruz
Lavinia
Patricia Terrazas
Mrs. Cervantes
Alejandro Rivas
Carlota Cervantes
Willy Corduran
The Governess
Señora de la Cruz, Archibaldo's mother
Señor de la Cruz, Archibaldo's father
Reviews & comments
wendyvortex
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- 5290 messages
- 7308 votes
Sinister comedy(????) that can be considered one of Bunuel's best films.
Archibaldo confesses to all the women he murdered while under the influence of his recovered music box.
And in a wonderful way, Bunuel lets fate decide Archibaldo's life.
He doesn't get the chance to actually kill anyone, so he lives out his fantasies and on mannequins.
Masterpiece!
Translated from Dutch · View original
Spetie
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- 38871 messages
- 8431 votes
A powerful film by Buñuel, which I found truly hilarious at times.
The story is well-crafted, and lead actor Ernesto Alonso delivers a superb performance as Archibaldo. On the one hand, he's a villain, but on the other, he manages to imbue his character with a very sympathetic presence, imbued with charisma and a Clark Gable-esque laugh.
The pace itself is very brisk, and there's never a dull moment. The tune that plays from the famous music box has an ominous quality and is used successfully several times. The highlight is always the moments where Archibaldo's attempted assassination just barely fails. Just the look of surprise on his face every time is truly hilarious.
Buñuel is slowly becoming one of my favorite directors. He often manages to achieve a great deal with minimal resources. Here, he plays with chance and fate in a fun way. He manages to develop a good and engaging concept in a smooth and original way. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
4.0*
Translated from Dutch · View original
El Loco
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- 1273 messages
- 2521 votes
This is the sixth Buñuel film I've seen so far, and his trademark features are present here as well. It's a black comedy with some absurd moments where Archibaldo thinks he's murdered women, but instead has simply decided their fate (the nurse falling in the empty elevator). The scenes where he dreams of murdering the women are also successful dream sequences, typical of Buñuel. The scenes with the mannequin that resembles one of the women are also definitely worth mentioning.
Ernesto Alonso delivers a strong performance as Archibaldo, making him seem sympathetic in a way, even though he wants nothing more than to kill women. It also reminded me of American Psycho, where Bateman also fantasized about killing people, but that's besides the point.
A good Buñuel, but not the best I've seen from him. The premise is very good, and there are certainly plenty of good moments, but I felt Buñuel could have done even more with this.
3*
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