The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz

Again, Bunuel explores the disturbing mentality of a member of the privileged class. The premise is very amusing: a would-be serial killer whose attempts are constantly thwarted by circumstance. The film has some wonderful touches like the demented music box theme, the fantasies when Archie gets in one of his murderous moods, and again a focus on the lower half of the female form. Ernesto Alonso and the entire cast are terrific. However, the film does have a certain sluggishness to it, and the first two acts in particular seem to contain a lot of superfluous material that doesn't add much to the whole. I also feel the ending could use more of a cynical bite to it. Still, it's better than a lot of his 50's work, if not quite as remarkable as EL or LOS OLVIDADOS.