The most ironic thing I see in this Buñuel is how strenuously Simon fights his sexual urges, violently awakened in the occasion by a sultry, curvaceous, Devil...while standing on what must be the biggest phallic symbol a hundred miles around. I think such image resumes the best what SOTD is all about: the fact that the farthest we humans think we have gotten away from our own nature—through physical effort, willpower--the tighter we are attached to it. That's the tragedy and comedy of our human condition, that we can't escape our nature, that of being minds and souls striving to reach a spiritual reality while being incapable of escaping our animal trappings, urges. We may expel them through the front door, thought they have gone for good, yet in the meanwhile they have gotten back by the kitchen door. That's, I think, the subject on which Buñuel focused his film, consciously or not--the futility of all asceticism, the lack of meaning of any human search for spiritual transcendence or purity--rather than just trying to mock established religion. Buñuel is that misleading to many; they think for ex. that The Exterminating Angel is about nothing, just a joke, while it really focuses on the mental traps we build for ourselves.Now there's nothing insulting in saying that Buñuel wasn't aware of what he was doing when shooting this or his other films. That's how real genius generally works, with the artist not even realizing what he's doing. True genius is not rational but intuitive. The artist does his artwork in a given way, including diverse elements, some of which apparently shouldn't be there, not because the logical mind tells him to do so, but simply because "it seems right". Such a thing, image, sound, fits there nicely so he'll add it to the whole. It's only when the art wok is complete that is makes sense, or should maybe.SOTD works very adequately that particular no man's land straddling the humane and the divine, between the everyday and the transcendental; something that has always intrigued me, because also an inescapable element of our human condition. For ex., one thing that has always intrigued me is how Man creates--or acknowledges, if you are a believer--the divine only to smirch it, to make it pedestrian in the next step. I'm thinking, for ex., about an old "recipe" for hard boiled eggs--put them in boiled water the time for three Hail Marys. Or wondering how Jesus handled events that usually make any of us fume; for ex, while he was still a kid, helping Joseph in his carpenter shop, did he let go a swear word when he hit his thumb instead of the nail?. That's another angle on which SOTD works; when, for ex., Simon mixes his prayers with trivial comments about his body functions, symptoms; or about the stupidity of someone around, about even the sudden realization that he may be talking nonsense instead of reaching new peaks of wisdom. But the best ex. is that of the thief hitting his kid with his miraculously given back hand. Buñuel's message here is clear: Man can't just handle divinity, transcendence; all he can do is to build mockeries of them. Just like the pillar--phallus on which Simon carries out his futile endeavor.The cinematography here is adequate without being superb--many shots from atop the pillar and the corresponding under it, looking up, as to emphasize the only two possible locations for every character—but we have to marvel at Figueroa's work, when all what he had in front of his lenses was the pillar and the desert. As for direction, Buñuel seems to have given great freedom to his actors, just told them what to do, do a few takes and then select the one he liked better. This is particularly true for Pinal and Brook. One has to admire also the great versatility of Mexican actors, for whom no scene seems to be too shocking, absurd or surrealistic. Both elements together make for great comic moments, amongst others, Simon pompously giving the could shoulder to his mom--his "mission" is far more important--and Pinal's Devil acting as a happy-go-lucky, carefree girl. The ending may be interpreted in many ways, but I think the idea behind it is, how things in life that tempt us--and to which we resist for a time, as Simon does towards earthly pleasures--appear trivial, ordinary once we succumb to them. Pinal herself, a sultry vixen while only a temptation, becomes a regular gal in night clothes when she finally gets him where she wants him. Man can't handle the transcendental I said, because even the transcendental he turns it into the pedestrian.In all a daring, imaginative, if short, surrealistic movie; one that will surely leave an impression on you, whatever that impression may be. Also said to have inspired Monty Python's Life Of Brian. Unfortunately that inspiration doesn't seem to have gone deep enough to make this last go beyond the lame joke and the man-in-drags routine. 8/10.

It is typical of every religion to preach that self-sacrifice is the path to find God. That giving up all the "pleasures" of the world will purify man. Wonder where those teachings came from, but it is quite a common trait, no matter what religion. Embrace asceticism, rid yourself of the so-called "worldly pleasures" or "sins" and achieve your spiritual or religious goals! The ultimate path to salvation is here! The Catholic teachings are no different, and Luis Bunuel has always been highly critical of organized religion. He has dedicated so many of his films as tools to launch razor sharp, scathing attacks on these beliefs or the Church in general.Loosely based on the real life story of the 5th century ascetic Saint Simeon Stylites, who spent 39 years atop a column ,"Simon of the Desert" is no exception. Picture a bearded monk, Simon (Claudio Brook), devoting his life to ascetic ways. He has already spent six years, six weeks and six days atop a pillar in the middle of the desert, praying for spiritual purification. He has gained a good amount of followers; mostly peasants, some priests and other village folk who believe that he has been blessed with special powers. They come to him for help or deliver some food from time to time. He is offered a brand new, taller pillar as a token of their faith and respect for his sacrifice. Simon continues his act of good faith, keeps delivering sermons and can even seemingly perform miracles.....Sounds like a serious, religious, deeply meaningful, preachy biography of a Saint? Not in the Luis Bunuel universe! Trust Bunuel to turn something that sounds very deep and heavy into a darkly humorous, absurd mock-fest that is unrelenting and uncompromising in its ways so much so as to scandalize half the audiences who could be believers! So this whole God-fearing stuff takes a dramatic turn as some of the priests and peasants start getting critical of Simon and think it is all in vain. Simon is taken to be an arrogant man by some, and a few others think he is faking it. Simon himself begins to deem his actions futile on several occasions. What's more...the Devil shows up too, and tries to "tempt" Simon in his many ways by appearing in the form of a beautiful woman (Silvia Pinal) in an attempt to seduce Simon out of his saintly ways! Will Simon yield to the temptation? Bunuel takes only about 45 minutes to drive his point across and does it with his masterful touch. Accompanied by Gabriel Figueroa's beautiful camera-work, Bunuel makes unpredictable transitions from realism to surrealism to hilarious absurdism all in the miniscule time frame that was available to him. Apparently Gustavo Alatriste, the producer could no longer fund the film for some reasons and that is how Bunuel was forced to abruptly end the film (with a bizarre ending that has been criticized in several write-ups, but do not be misled...it does have its place..and its own charm based on the interpretation), while in reality he wished to add more material to the film. Whatever the reasons, the end result is a highly original, savagely funny and one of the most eccentric works of cinema from the twisted mind of Luis Bunuel.Pay especially careful attention to certain scenes in which Simon mutters random religious ramblings on seeing some ordinary creatures like an insect (that has absolutely no idea of what is going on!) and later tries to do the same with an inanimate object but gives up! Or the scene in which Simon performs a miracle and gives a cripple a new pair of hands...and the eventual consequence of it! Or that brutally funny scene in which some of the priests don't seem to know the meaning of a particular Biblical reference. Every scene drips a lot of really clever writing....and there is no question that this is an exemplary work of genius from the great director.Bunuel's pick of actors add to the amazing experience with their superb performances, especially Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal and the midget Jesus Fernandez."Simon of the Desert" is the kind of film that leaves you wanting more. Another 45 minutes of running time perhaps? Check out this masterpiece...do not waste anymore time.Score: 10/10.

Simon del Desiert is a very religious based movie with a new meaning to keeping the faith, because in this film you follow a man named Simon who is a top a pillar proving his loyalty to the lord, claiming that he has been full of sin all his life and wants to be forgiven to be good servant of the lord. Throughout Simon's journey to becoming a man of free sin life, he is faced with a few challenges. Such challenges are that of trying not to eat or drink much water, only drink and eat when it is necessary and of what he can eat, is the "plants of life", no meat or dairy. Another challenge that Simon will cross, is a women who is claimed as the "devil" this woman tries to seduce Simon into giving into his male needs, Simon stays strong the women tries to undress and everything, but Simon will stay strong even after all her attempts to seduce him. Simon will remaining strong standing atop his pillar, gets betrayed by one of his fellow worshipers, because they stuck dairy products and meat inside of his food supply to make it look like he has been sneaking around with extra food. Simon refuses to have taken part in that and says the man can be forgiven for sins, until the man bursts into foaming out the mouth and falling over dead where he stood, with a bag of golden landing on the ground out of his robe. Although this movie has a very twisted ending, as we follow Simon he is talking about being free and sinful, but then we the movie takes us for a spin and shows the real Simon with the girl who kept appearing as the devil, they were in a nightclub, drinking and smoking. Therefore, this movie kind of shows two sides the "true" way to follow the religion or the hypocritical way.

Make no mistakes, this film directly satirizes and criticizes the Catholic church that Bunuel found himself at odds with. While quite worth viewing, the film is not appropriate for children, nor is it a typical narrative adventure. The film can be quite funny at times, pointing out facets of the church and religion which can be perhaps contradictory. While it seems ridiculous, it so happens that people actually did get on top of pillars and prophesize/sermonize, the irony being that the people were being looked down upon by the pillar prophets. Not all viewers will appreciate the cutting humor or satire of the film. In the film the devil is represented by a woman. The woman who is Satan is often tempting Simon, topless, or is all of a sudden an old and undesirable hag of a woman, without missing a beat. The devil taunts Simon in humorous ways, at one point punting a lamb. While it felt that the film moved a smidge on the slow side, it is cut short as the director ran out of funds for the production. The ending is abrupt, but still resolves the plot, which is untraditional, yet intelligent and sophisticated. The film is not for the average audience, but is a favorite among film scholars and cinephiles. Younger film scholars should perhaps view the film multiple times to get the full effect of the film, as it requires full attention to catch the subtleties included in the plot. The film's title may present itself like a sword and sandal film, but is in fact completely unconventional in its execution. There are plenty of sandals in the film, few swords to be found except those used to form metaphors and satires of idiosyncrasies. For example, Simon, who is considered to be most holy, refrains from interaction with the public, and is withdrawn from people and overall temptation. However, it is quite ironic that he still retreats to the devil in the end, where he is transported to a club where people are dancing. While Simon is among people who are dancing in a trance like matter, devil present, Simon still continues to opt out of participation or interaction, yet he has technically given in to temptation anyways.