Reaction Shots

For a number of reasons, I prefer the original Spanish title “Ensayo de un crimen”. “Rehearsal for a Crime” is a lot more accurate, if it does give away the whole premise of the film. I’m not sure how much of an influence Hitchcock might have been on Luis Buñuel (or vice versa, for that matter), but it might be worth looking more closely at the pair. Whatever the case, the film at hand is a pure Buñuelian joy. It would be unfair to say that by 1955, Buñuel was not yet highly regarded in internationals cinema, but too much of his work in Mexico is - while never ignored - often glossed over to get the “hits” (“Tristana”, “Belle du Jour”, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”, etc.) This is a pity because the period is replete with stone masterpieces; “Viridiana”, “Los Olvidados”, “Nazarin”, and “El”. Much of his work was as a director-for-hire, but arguably, it was Buñuel who put Mexico on the map as a producer of films of international repute.  After decades of itinerant work b...