Nazarín
| Nazarín | |
|---|---|
Nazarín poster
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| Directed by | Luis Buñuel |
| Produced by | Manuel Barbachano Ponce |
| Written by |
Julio Alejandro Luis Buñuel |
| Starring |
Francisco Rabal Marga López Rita Macedo Jesús Fernández |
| Distributed by | Producciones Barbáchano Ponce |
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Release date
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4 June 1959 |
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
Nazarín (Spanish pronunciation: [nasaˈɾin], [naθaˈɾin]) is a 1959 Mexican film directed by Luis Buñuel and co-written between Buñuel and Julio Alejandro, adapted from the eponymous novel of Benito Pérez Galdós. It won the international prize at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and was selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 32nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Although Nazarín is not one of Buñuel's most renowned films, it still holds a very high reputation. The acclaimed director Andrei Tarkovsky named it one of his 10 favorite films.
Padre Nazario is a Roman Catholic priest of Spanish heritage living austerely in a hotel on the poor side of town. He is of a quiet, temperate nature and carelessly gives away what little he has, to the point of not caring whenever his room is burgled. He demonstrates understanding and compassion for those he encounters, such as a woman living below him, Beatriz, who is plagued by psychotic episodes and thoughts of suicide, and has a troubled relationship with a man named Pinto.
One night, a prostitute, Andara, comes running into Nazario's room seeking shelter from the authorities; she has murdered another prostitute, Camella, and has herself been wounded in the fight. Padre Nazario withholds judgement about her guilt or innocence, and will help her—and not betray her—until she is found out. He tries to set her head straight and make her conscious of her guilt. Later Andara has a fevered dream in which she imagines that a portrait of Jesus Christ is laughing at her.
That night Beatriz comes and warns them that someone has tipped off the authorities. (Beatriz offers to hide them in her room, with the express intention that the police will have her (Beatriz) arrested and hanged). When the proprietress, Mrs. Chanfa, finds out what has transpired, she is adamant that Andara must not be discovered hiding with Father Nazario, and orders Andara to clean the room so that no one knows she was there.
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Wikipedia