(1952)
2.5
Tom Vick
A minor work by Luis Buñuel's standards, El Bruto is a pretty straightforward melodrama distinguished by Pedro Armendariz's robust performance in the title role and the crisp, high-contrast images of cinematographer Augustin Jimenez. Armendariz's Frankenstein-like Pedro is an impressionable man-child, an innocent whose combination of strength and gullibility lead him to tragedy. The film's plot, which revolves around the forced eviction of a rich landlord's downtrodden tenants, provides ample room for social commentary, but by centering his movie on a man who is essentially a pawn in the landlord's machinations, Buñuel draws attention to the more intimate cruelty of one man taking advantage of another.
El Bruto on AllMovie
El Bruto (1952)
