Pesthauch des Dschungels (1956)

Pesthauch des Dschungels: Directed by Luis Buñuel. With Simone Signoret, Charles Vanel, Georges Marchal, Michel Piccoli. Adventurer Shark comes to a small village near a diamond-miners’ camp, and local police arrest him, accusing him of having committed a bank robbery in a neighboring town. The police also confiscate the diamond mine for the state, which incites the miners to revolt, but they’re defeated. Shark, Father Lizzardi, Castin, his daughter, and Djin, a whore Castin loves, flee into the jungle and fight for their lives.

“Bunuel doing an adventure movie is fine in my book. Why do people have to be such snobs when it comes to pigeonholing directors? Some of the films Bunuel made during this period, he may have been personally disappointed because he might have rather been making pix with subject matter more of his choosing. Nevertheless the things that Bunuel brings to this movie – the subtle deadpan humor throughout, the irreverent politics, the surreal touches (especially in the last third of the film when our fugitive protagonists are in the jungle) — make this a gem. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePlus Georges Marchal, Charles Vanel and Michel Piccoli are stupendous. And Signoret is in a class by herself. Not only was she one of the most stunningly gorgeous and sexy actresses in movies anywhere in the world in the 1950s, she was also a great actress and perfect here as the unrepentant, mercenary whore who falls in love. The last jungle sequence has some of the most beautifully surreal images in any film from the decade. The new DVD is highly recommended. A really perfect balance of elements.”