Susana (The Devil and the Flesh) (1983)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Eric B

  
  "Susana" is a conventional melodrama with few of director Luis Bunuel's trademark quirks. Sure, there's an unlikable femme fatale, a dash of satanic intervention and one bizarre, subjective shot of a woman being maniacally whipped, but otherwise the storytelling is… More
  "Susana" is a conventional melodrama with few of director Luis Bunuel's trademark quirks. Sure, there's an unlikable femme fatale, a dash of satanic intervention and one bizarre, subjective shot of a woman being maniacally whipped, but otherwise the storytelling is fairly straightforward. The film opens with the title character's rainy prison escape, a surprisingly exciting segment given that "action sequences" are so rare in Bunuel's talky catalog. From there, the sultry fugitive insinuates herself into a family with a comfortable hacienda, lying about her past and calculatedly flashing her olive shoulders to the patriarch, his son and a prime hired hand. As tensions rise between the three romantic rivals, a suspicious grandmother and a neglected wife, Susana becomes the classic homewrecker. Which lover will she choose? Or will someone discover her secret and summon the police? The clash of these vivid personalities is taut and engrossing, but a ridiculously upbeat ending almost unravels the whole film's seductive spell. Bunuel must have had his tongue in cheek (aww, just look at the happy horsie!), but there's still no excuse for it.