Tristana

PG-13

Released Mar 29, 1970

1h 38m

Drama

List

94%

Tomatometer

34 Reviews

83%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

As a young woman, Tristana (Catherine Deneuve) is orphaned and taken under the guardianship of Don Lope (Fernando Rey), a respected member of the community. However, Don Lope has a weakness for women and takes advantage of his innocent charge. When Tristana falls in love with artist Horacio (Franco Nero), she must learn to be more assertive in order to achieve independence from her nefarious guardian, or her blossoming relationship with Horatio is doomed.

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Margaret Hinxman

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The film is so full of riches, so perfectly constructed to gain the maximum effect with the minimum of fuss, that it can be enjoyed on many levels.

Mar 20, 2020

Full Review

Derek Malcolm

Guardian

What more is there to say about Bunuel? Except that Tristana... is a quite masterly summation of his art.

Mar 20, 2020

Full Review

Richard Brody

New Yorker

The rigid rituals of duty and honor form an inextricable bond of pleasure and degradation, of sex and death-and render sin all the more exciting.

Jul 14, 2014

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Creaking...a film that suffers due to the technical and budgetary shortcomings of much European cinema of the day, as well as its general old-fashioned feel.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 15, 2024

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

The shock value is muffled by their tone of dispassionate gamesmanship...

Jul 18, 2023

Full Review

Dilys Powell

Sunday Times (UK)

Tristana may look like an aesthetically conservative film. Don't be deceived. It makes its effects by the very austerity of its style. And its effects are diabolically ironic.

Mar 20, 2020

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Audience Member

As with all Bunuel's movies I cannot in good conscience rate his work above average. On one hand this particular story "Tristana "Is filmed in a beautiful Vintage time period .Its authentic Victorian homestead ,costumes,and 1920's era setting is depicted extremely well. However the downside to all of Bunuel's work is his nauseating elements of perversion personified in the elderly males role. Here we have a man who puts on a facade as a father figure to an orphaned young woman only to take advantage of her by forcing himself on her as a means for control. As time passes resentment and bitterness simmer to a boiling point beneath the surface .Tristanas lack of freedom to choose her own path gets derailed continuously by the selfish motives of Don Lupe. Naturally his motives become well known throughout town which in turn leaves little room for dignity to be restored to his Ward. Despite her attempts to escape his malevolent clutches , unfortunate circumstances trap her into an unloving marriage. Anger and bitterness are suppressed to the point that a second viewing might be required in order to fully understand the feelings between the characters. In the end we are still left with a lackluster climax that quite frankly never delivers a worthwhile message. It may pass the time to sit through but its still a major disappointment to watch.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

In terms of style, "Tristana" is not your typical work by Bunuel. It is reserved, subtle, and mysterious. Symbolic images and themes (if any are indeed present) are evasive, and Bunuel's surrealist flair is uncharacteristically restrained. It is therefore difficult to get to know this sly work, and initial efforts may leave one feeling like their hands are closing on thin air. Yet the film's buried themes exert a cumulative impact on the subconscious, and in the end we're left in awe of an experience that we've felt more than we've understood. In terms of character, we see a distinct arc in the evolution of Tristana's demeanor and behavior, yet we're never quite sure of what's transpiring beneath her surface during key moments in the film. Perhaps this adds an air of mystery to the work that entices us to return to it, hoping for deeper revelations with each successive viewing. While Tristana doesn't qualify as Bunuel's finest work and is not to be recommended to any but his most dedicated of fans, it does succeed in painting a portrait of a time, place and person that evolves with each viewing and engages the intellect and emotions in a uniquely Bunuellian way.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

William L

Like most of Buñuel's output, Tristana carries a loathing for the trappings of social convention, particularly the stuffy conservatism that had long been intertwined in the culture of his native Spain. Rey's Don Lope feigns superiority, swooning in his own gentility and supposed love of the downtrodden while selling his possessions to ensure that he doesn't have to actually work. Into his arms falls Deneuve's Tristana, an innocent girl who seeks simple happiness but is gradually turned to bitterness by Lope's own perverse machinations in their strange adopted daughter/wife dynamic. It's bleak and anti-establishment, but it's also patently melodramatic for much of its runtime, feeling less profound than it does as if it is simply going through the paces (at least until Deneuve's return as a resentful opportunist plotting revenge using Lope's honor and age against him, where the audience is called to measure past misconduct against present retribution; that's some powerful stuff). It's full of careful detail and carries the hallmarks of its acclaimed director's style, but just feels more reserved than you might expect a Buñuel film to be; whether that is the result of the director maturing into more subtle storytelling or losing power is up to you. (3.5/5)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/27/21

Full Review

Audience Member

More Bunel exploration of human motivation, love, betrayal, dreams and reality

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Fra B

Buñuel doesn't abuse his power

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/29/20

Full Review

Audience Member

I can understand why this film is considered a milestone but I can't say it is one of my favourites by Buñuel, despite its undisputable artistic quality.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

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Luis Buñuel

Director

Catherine Deneuve

Tristana

Fernando Rey

Don Lope

Franco Nero

Horacio

Jesus Fernandez

Saturno

Lola Gaos

Saturna

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Synopsis

As a young woman, Tristana (Catherine Deneuve) is orphaned and taken under the guardianship of Don Lope (Fernando Rey), a respected member of the community. However, Don Lope has a weakness for women and takes advantage of his innocent charge. When Tristana falls in love with artist Horacio (Franco Nero), she must learn to be more assertive in order to achieve independence from her nefarious guardian, or her blossoming relationship with Horatio is doomed.

Director: Luis Buñuel
Producer: Juan Estelrich
Screenwriter: Julio Alejandro, Luis Buñuel, Benito Pérez Galdós
Distributor: Maron Films, Criterion Collection
Production Co: Época Films S.A., Les Films Corona, Talía Films, Selenia Cinematografica
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Disturbing Images)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 29, 1970, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.8K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Mono

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