Two down, ten to go: "Illusion Travels By Streetcar," Luis Bunuel, 1954

In my mission to see twelve films that I've admitted to not having seen despite the fact that I ought to have seen them already (see here), I ordered an obscure-label DVD of Luis Bunuel's 1954 comedy La Ilusion viaja en tranvia (Illusion Travels By Streetcar), and braced myself for the worst. 

So let me start with some good news: the Alter's Collection disc, part of its "Vive Mexico—Cine en 35mm" series, is by no means a disgrace. It's a competent transfer of a not-bad print, and extremely watchable. At 18 bucks and over from various Amazon sellers, I wouldn't quite call it a bargain. But if you are in a spot like mine, certainly worth it.

As to the film itself: In the context of the Bunuel's filmography (I feel like taking a few puffs off of a long-stemmed pipe right about now, for some reason), this can be seen as something of a break between the amour fou intensities of the prior El and the subsequent Abismos de Pasion. Indeed, one of the most interesting features of the film is its approving treatment of what most of us would call a "normal" romantic pairing. The hapless co-protagonist "Curly" Juan (Carlos Navarro) spends much of the film pursuing his best pal Tarrajas' gorgeous sister Lupita (Lilia Prado), and by the film's end, when it's clear they're together for good, you root for them as you might in a conventional film.

Which is what Ilusion is...in some respects. The title makes it sound like the film could be a sort of surreal city trek, which it's not. "I don't like the title and didn't choose it," Bunuel told critics Jose de la Colina and Tomas Perez Turrent. (Bunuel does have one surreal public transit picture in his oeuvre, the terrific 1952 Subida al Cielo (Ascent to Heaven) aka Mexican Bus Ride, which is available on a nice British Region 2 DVD.) This story of two disconsolate buddies who take their beloved streetcar, which is about to be decommissioned, on one last late-night joy ride—with calamitous results—is, among other things, a great, compassionate portrait of a city and its working classes. The sequence in which a night shift of slaughterhouse workers gets an unexpected lift home and runs slightly afoul of a couple of religious pilgrims (one of whom sniffs, "this free ride is pretty fishy") is a mini-masterpiece of comic nuance, with the characters' mutual suspicions and inchoate fellow feeling curving and straightening likes the streetcar tracks themselves. Colina and Turrent asked Bunuel is the picture was influenced by the Italian neo-realists, and Bunuel acknowledged a resemblance: "It's possible, because we see diverse aspects of Mexican social reality...[b]ut I didn't think about Italian cinema; neorealism doesn't appeal to me." And indeed, Ilusion has a lightness of tone that the Italians weren't much interested in. The comic interaction between Juan and the older, putatively wiser Tarrajas (Fernando Soto) rather resembles a couple of buddies who would soon capture the imagination of North America's television watchers: Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton. And it's not just the streetcar angle. These are guys who dream big, don't quite make it, and still manage to taste quite a few of life's pleasures. The multiple narrative they encounter on their errant streetcar ride also look ahead to such multi-story Bunuel masterpieces as The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Milky Way (indeed, that film's hitchhiking pair Pierre and Jean are direct descendants of Juan and Tarrajas), and The Phantom of Liberty. Great stuff.

By the way, thanks to everyone who's been steering me to TV screenings of some of my twelve. Kazan's Wild River has been running on the Fox Movie Channel, and I'd catch it, except my cable service doesn't carry said channel. Drat. 

Comments

[D Cairns]

I think it'd make a great double bill with FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. You know, borrowing a vehicle, then trying to return it without getting caught...

[bill]

I've so far only been able to knock "Salesman" off my list, despite the fact that some of my choices are easy to come by. I've actually watched very few movies over the past couple of weeks...

[Dan]

Some things that will have to happen for all of my twelve to be available:

1) The fall of the North Korean government.

2) The Beckett estate finally loosening the hell up.

3) The death of Jerry Lewis.

Only two out of three I see happening in my lifetime.

[bill]

Yeah, Jerry Lewis isn't going anywhere.