a simple story. nothing more. same themes of Bunuel universe. same clash between innocence and impulses. the air of ancient Greek tragedy, in which all is leading by faith. impressive performances of Catherine Deneuve and Fernando Rey. the transformation of Tristana . and the ambiguous status of victim. it is a confession - film. not the confession of characters or director but one of the viewer.because it is good occasion to discover yourself front to the spider web of a story about sensuality and cruelty and challenges , in the atmosphere imposed by Bunuel as clothes for each word and gesture. a film who impose the cold air as the protective window.

From director Luis Buñuel (Un Chien Andalou, Land Without Bread, Belle De Jour, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie), this Spanish film was another listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, so it didn't matter that I knew nothing about it, I was going to watch it. Basically set in 1930's Spain, teenager Tristana (Catherine Deneuve) is orphaned after the death of her servant mother, she is adopted by her mother's master, elderly respected aristocrat Don Lope (Fernando Rey), despite having socialistic views about business and religion he is well known and liked by many. But the biggest weakness Don Lope has is for women, and despite being her trusted guardian he cannot help but fall in love with Tristana, to the point that he seduces her, and she becomes his lover, although it is much more sexual abuse of the innocent young woman, she is not completely aware of the implications as he often tells her she is free to do what she wants. A year or two later Tristana finds her own voice, demanding to study music, art and other subjects and wanting to become independent, and she one day meets young artist Horacio Díaz (Franco Nero), and she flees Toledo and her guardian with him as they have fallen in love. However Tristana is forced to return years later when she has a terminal disease on her leg, she is forced to have this leg amputated, but she survives the illness, and returning to Don Lope he asks for her hand in marriage which she accepts, but the change in her life has made her bitter, and Don Lope must live with the consequences of his actions towards his adoptive daughter. Also starring Lola Gaos as Saturna, Antonio Casas as Don Cosme, Jesús Fernández as Saturno and Vicente Soler as Don Ambrosio. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Deneuve gives a terrific chilling performance as the young woman who grows up with perhaps an alternative view on life and the ways of the world, and Rey is also terrific as the man who has done it to her and who you can have no pity for, it is an interesting story with a twisted relationship and the need to escape or get revenge for ruining a life, I admit it wasn't all that easy to follow on occasions, but all in all it is worthwhile period drama. Very good!

Tristana is a Buñuel's film based on Benito Perez Galdos' realist novel of the same title, what Spaniards call a "novela costumbrista", that is, an epoch novel that focus on real local customs, social types and atmosphere.It tells the story of Tristana, a 19y.o. orphan girl, who moves to the house of her legal guardian, Don Lope, a socialist bourgeois womanizer, who becomes not only her father, but also her lover-husband.The way Buñuel shot the movie is not especially daring or original within Spanish cinema, and, despite what some people say, there is not surrealism in this movie, just some oniric images - two very different things that people mix too often. What makes the movie so interesting is not the realist way in which depicts 19th Spanish society (there are many movies of this sort in Spanish cinema), but how Buñuel approaches and modifies the story to bring out Tristana's dark side. The movie ends exploring the boundaries and limits of the economical, social, and gender orders, and, more importantly, the boundaries between good and evil. The story also shows the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie, that preaches Socialist ideas and criticize wealth and the social order, despite them being wealthy, being part of that system and direct beneficiaries of the order they criticize.In fact, in Tristana nothing is what it looks like, everything has two sides, there is not good and evil, but good-and-evil. The viewer starts despising and hating that indecent abuser of Don Lope, for his social hypocrisy and his sexual behavior, forgetting that young Tristana, despite despising him, does not oppose or resist his sexual advances, and lives like a princess from his money being as hypocrite as her master. A little intermezzo contains her meeting, love story, and escape with young bohemian painter Horacio. The viewer feels that this should be the end of the movie, the poor girl rescued by pure love. Mistake! - The second part of the movie, shows Tristana's true nature. She is sick and misses Don Lope and his wealth, so she leaves her lover and returns to Don Lope's house, and even marries him; he becomes her carer and dutiful husband. If Don Lope is a monster and treated her so badly why would she want to return to his place? She has soaked in all the preaching of his father-husband and uses them against him; she becomes the tyrant, the intolerant, the abuser, and the one that takes advantage of the old tamed Don Lope, who changes his behavior and customs to suit Tristana's needs and whims. Tristana ends being Don Lope's mirror image in reverse, a product of his teachings, but also a more wicked human being only interested in money, power, and revenge. The viewer ends thinking that nothing is what it looked like, and that both Don Lope and Tristana are connected to the core, identical in a way, evil both of them.As always, Buñuel is a master at directing actors and creating an homogeneous ensemble of a group of big movie stars. Fernando Rey really nails his role, and offers a convincing range of emotions and behavior, from father to jealous father, from stallion to grandpa, from an open-minded intellectual to a petty tyrant, from funny guy to a jerk. Catherine Denueve is great in a role that suited her acting abilities, and her cold beauty is perfect for Tristana. Lola Gaos is great, as always, in her role of submissive hard-working servant, hard and sweet at the same time. The rest of the cast, which includes Franco Nero, Antonio Casas, and Jesus Fernandez, among many other supporting actors, are also good in their respective roles.Not the best or most experimental Buñuel's movie, but very intriguing, with terrific performances, that offers an accurate portrait of Spain in the 19th century and explores controversial philosophical themes.

Luis Buñuel had a mastery of screen technique attained by very few directors. Confronted by the script of Tristana, what contemporary director would know where to start?Buñuel's attention to detail is extraordinary. Every scene is packed with visual interest. In some strange way, the decor forms an essential part of the structure; it is a facet of Buñuel's unique vision. Moreover, he not only knows exactly when to end a sequence, but how to end it. For instance, when Don Lope (Rey) puts down the dog and walks away, the camera follows not him but the dog: an endearing and brilliant touch, and there are many more. Compelling throughout, even spellbinding.If this film were a framed picture hanging in a gallery, thousands would come to see it and Buñuel would be acclaimed as a great artist. He was a great artist, in fact, but the cinema is an ephemeral form and people forget. We need to buy the videos and watch these fine movies from time to time, just to remind ourselves that a film can be a significant art form and not merely a commercial product cynically synthesised to extract the largest amount of money from the greatest number of people.