• Release year: 1965
• Director: Luis Buñuel.
• Producer: Gustavo Alatriste.
• Screenplay by: Luis Buñuel and Julio Alejandro.
• Cinematography by: Gabriel Figueroa.
• Music by: Raúl Lavista.

Shotgun Commentary: hilarious portrait of belief, hypocrisy and morality.

Review

Simon of the Desert (Simón del Desierto) is the cinematic equivalent of a dream you wake up from certain of its reality. Much like those dreams, it isn’t until you slowly analyse it with reality very much in mind, that you realise it can only be fiction.

Through its portrayal of a pious man, Buñuel talks about morality, religion and the concepts of good and evil in a surprisingly light manner. This wonderful film has been restored in 4K by Radiance as part of the Buñuel box set “Nothing is Sacred”. More on this after the review.

Chaotic good or neutral evil?

The feature follows the life of a devotee of God. He has promised to stay atop a column in the middle of the desert as penitence for unknown sins. Potentially the sins of humanity or some other generic thing like that. As a result, he is considered a holy man, and people go pray with him and watch him perform miracles.

In fact, there is a very curious coincidence in this regard. The film begins the day Simón (Claudio Brook), the pious man, has been on the column six years, six months, and six days. Now, anyone who knows the tiniest about Christian religion, knows that 666 is the number of the devil. It is particularly strange that on that date, they decide to gift Simón a taller column in which to stand.

On this day, you see how he struggles to walk, since he hasn’t done so in so long. Still, he finally manages to get to the other column and climb on top. Right after, he prays and grows the hands of a man back. The fact that he is specially celebrated and performs the only miracle of the movie during this date in particular, makes you wonder if the whole ceremony isn’t more staged by the Devil than it is by God.

As good as it gets

Simón presents a complex combination between good and evil. He shows extreme humility when they try to make him a priest, but also great pride and superiority complex when he talks to God about the people who come to pray. He scolds a priest for looking at the same woman that he was looking at, criticises a man for being clean, denies forgiveness…

Overall, he is incredibly contradictory in acts and behaviours. Much like any other person who doesn’t really know what they are subscribing to. Simón himself admits at one point that he doesn’t even know what he’s saying any more. An admission that is specially hilarious due to the circumstances in which it happens. Brook embodies a hilariously human character, a man who couldn’t try any harder to be special and whose efforts are so comically ignored that one can’t help but have a good time witnessing his life.

More than you care to admit

Naturally, the story wouldn’t be the same without the presence of The Devil (Silvia Pinal). Her role confirms that, despite the irony of his behaviour, Simón is, indeed, praying to God and trying to do good. The Devil disguises herself using many costumes and props to try and tempt Simón to come down from the column and sin.

These disguises say more about society than one might think. For instance, the moment when she is dressed as a little girl. This disguise if the one The Devil uses to try and tempt him with her body. She shows off her legs and breasts to get Simón to give in to carnal pleasures.

Considering that she is previously disguised as a woman who is taking water to the village, the fact that it isn’t an adult woman, but a little girl who gets naked to tempt Simón says a lot about society, even if it is the same actress portraying both. One can’t help but think about the popularity of schoolgirl fantasies and wonder why is it that men are so fixated on little girls as sex objects. But let’s leave that subject to sociologists and sexologists better.

Final thoughts

All in all, Simon of the Desert is a really entertaining film with a unique take on good and evil. The storytelling is wonderful, and the ending should be taught in all film schools as one of the best endings in cinema history. If you are ever up for a fun, dreamlike experience, this is your safest bet.

Radiance’s box set “Nothing is Sacred” will be released the 16th of December, but it is already available for pre-order on their website. Link below!

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K restorations of Viridiana and Simon of the Desert from the original negatives
• A new restoration of The Exterminating Angel from a 4K scan by Radiance Films
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio for each film
• Newly filmed appreciations for each film and Buñuel by filmmakers Richard Ayoade, Alex Cox, Guillermo del Toro, and Lulu Wang (2024, 55 mins)
• The Life and Times of Don Luis Buñuel – A BBC Arena documentary on Buñuel featuring contributions from Buñuel and collaborators including Catherine Deneuve, presented on Blu-ray for the first time (1983, 101 mins)
• A Mexican Buñuel  – A documentary directed by Emilio Maillé on Buñuel’s Mexican period (1995, 56 mins)
• Buñuel: A Surrealist Filmmaker – A feature-length documentary directed by Javier Espada on Buñuel’s life and career, presented on Blu-ray for the first time (2021, 84 mins)
• An interview with Buñuel from 1964 recorded for French TV’s Cinéastes de notre temps (1964, 48 mins)
• The Other Trinity: Alatriste, Buñuel and Pinal – A visual essay on Buñuel in Mexico by Abraham Castillo Flores (2024, 34 mins)
• Dinner and Other Rituals – A visual essay on The Exterminating Angel and the dinner party on film by critic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (2024, 17 mins)
• Audio commentary on Viridiana by critic Michael Brooke (2024)
• Galleries including production and behind-the-scenes images
• Optional English subtitles for each film
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde
• Limited edition 80-page book featuring new writing by Glenn Kenny, Justine Smith, Lindsay Hallam and David Hering, as well as archive material
• Limited edition of 6000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Find the Radiance release right here!

Advice to take from this movie:

• The point of sacrifice in a religion is to make you feel good about yourself, but you can disguise it however you want.
• Is life really worth living if you are living off of lettuce and water?
• Let little girls be little girls, don’t be a creep.

What’s your take? Have you watched Simon of the Desert? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀