Simon of the Desert

A peculiar Buñuel project. Simon of the Desert was supposed to be a full-length feature, but it needed to be cut down to 45 minutes because the budget simply wasn't there. Even so, it feels like a 15-minute short stretched to trice its length. It also looks a lot older than its '65 production year suggests.

Simon is a very religious man who climbs a pillar to be able to live closer to God. There he spends his days being as devout as possible. The devil isn't really impressed by Simon's actions and with his many disguises he tries to get Simon down from his pillar. This proves a lot harder than expected though.

Simon of the Desert looks scruffy, like some low-budget late 30s/early 40s film. Performances are rather poor, the cinematography is drab and the music is simply horrible. But the mood is light and there are a few laughs that surprised me, as this is a side I hadn't seen from Buñuel before. Not a great film.