Todo crimen es un acto de posesión: Buñuel y sus heroínas

Abstract

Ensayo de un crimen is a film in which nothing is what it seems. Buñuel seduces us with his mysterious and disconcerting universe, and with his intimate look into the lives of his protagonists, who lose themselves in a surreal labyrinth of truncated plans. The following analysis will illustrate through structure and narrative the main constellations formed by the protagonist and the motley female characters and will clarify the relationship between victims and villains in this work, which pretends to be the story of a crime, but actually focuses on the quest for pleasure found in the feeling of having power over women. Likewise, the analysis will reveal that this film not only transforms the feminine myths related to the Virgin of Guadalupe and the Malinche, but also breaks the boundaries between fiction and reality by reflecting – through Archibaldo’s life – the master’s personal obsessions and anxieties.

Keywords

• deceivers
• ensayo de un crimen
• luis buñuel
• obsession
• possession