Simon of the Desert (1965)

 Luis Bunuel's "Simon of the Desert"


Luis Bunuel's final film in Mexico, "Simon of the Desert," was inspired by the ascetic 5th-century Syrian saint Simeon Stylites, who lived on top of a pillar in the desert for 39 years. Only 45 minutes in length, this short film explores the titular Simon's anecdotal isolation atop the pillar, while being tempted by the devil below. The film was originally intended by be a feature length film but the financial strains of the production forced Bunuel to cut it short. 

Atop the pillar, Simon is removed from the world. He even is bestowed an even taller pillar by a wealthy family, where he then becomes even further removed from reality. Bunuel elevates him to a place of his own delusion, and uses surrealist flourishes to construct his psychological Christ-like complex. It felt as though Simon's devotion to God was actually just a devotion to his own grandeur. 

Perhaps the best part of the film is the finale scene in which Silvia Pinal's devil takes Simon from his 5th-century pillar to an early 1960s nightclub where a rock-'n-roll band is playing. In the nightclub, Simon is just another beatnik smoking a cigar, while the devil demonstrates how his attempts at purity are all a waste and only for himself as she dances and grooves to the contemporary sounds of modern hedonistic music with the other hedonistic souls.

 


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