TRISTANA (1970)

Country: Spain / Italy / France

Genre(s): Drama

Director: Luis Bunuel

Cast: Catherine Deneuve / Fernando Rey / Lola Gaos

Plot

Following her mother’s death, Tristana is sent to live with the aging Don Lope, who falls in love with her.  Feeling trapped by Lope’s overprotection, Tristana sneaks out to meet another man.  As time passes, the realities of life force Tristana and Lope to confront the consequences of obeying their passions.

What I Liked

Tristana is the most stylistically conventional of the Luis Bunuel films that I’ve seen thus far and yet the most thematically inscrutable.  Almost a half century after producing his groundbreaking surrealist films, the director produced this more formalist production, making use of more conventional plot elements and story structure.  Still, even if the film is more easily understood on the surface, symbolism, psychology, and philosophy are seething beneath that surface.  By the end of the movie, any viewer with any kind of sensitivity toward good art will find that ruminating on the nature of human relationships, emotion, gender, and even the meaning of life itself is impossible to avoid.  Bunuel does this all while shunning the more obvious imagery of his earlier work in favor of the power of suggestion.  And the power of suggestion is at the heart of his surrealist roots.

Bunuel is obsessed with the intricacies of daily life in this movie, much of which revolves around the actions of Lola Gaos in the role of Saturna, Lope’s housekeeper and Tristana’s confidant.  Saturna’s turning down of the covers on Lope’s bed or her preparing a cup of tea, all things that would be ignored by other filmmakers, are given ample screen time.  At first these moments don’t stand out, but taken as a whole, it is clear Bunuel was intentionally bringing a special significance to Saturna’s role as a kind of pacifist in the ever-changing battle of emotions between Lope and Tristana.

The three lead actors, Catherine Deneuve (as Tristana), Fernando Rey (as Lope), and Gaos are all well cast in their roles, which they all perform well.  They are convincing as an ensemble, never trying to outdo one another and instead contributing to the film as a whole.  Perhaps this too is something for which Bunuel, as their director, also deserves credit.

What I Didn’t Like

“Tristana” is a slow burn to say the least.  There are only a few moments of outright confrontation or suspense in the movie, and these moments are relatively tame when compared with similar moments in other films.  It is obvious Bunuel wanted his film to reflect a more subtle drama reflected in the changing relationships and emotions of his main characters.  By the time the film ends, it is evident that this approach is clearly part of the film’s power.  However, one must have the abundant attention span required to make it to the end, in order to experience that reward.

Incidentally, Deneuve’s French is overdubbed throughout the film by a Spanish actress.  The process itself is technically well-done in that its hardly noticeable unless one looks closely.  Still, it is silly to cast a French woman as the lead in a Spanish film just to record over her lines.

Most Memorable Scene

*spoiler alert*

In one of the film’s later scenes, Tristana, having lost her leg to disease, tells a priest that she has needs that are no longer met.  A short time later, she walks out onto a balcony and exposes herself to Saturna’s son.  The camera focuses on Deneuve’s face, the most striking close up of the entire film.  We see nothing of her body; we only watch a very carnal smirk turn from tempting to disturbing as it spreads across her face.  Even the boy, who had asked Tristana to do this, retreats into the trees, apparently confused and horrified.  It is easily Deneuve’s best moment in the picture and also possibly a tip of the hat by Bunuel to the more nightmarish imagery of his earlier films.

Rating: 4 out of 5