The Young and the Damned (1950)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This is probably the only film that falls into the category of "Great, but no thanks". Is this a masterpiece? Like so many of Buñuel films, Yes, Yes, and again Yes! Can I ever watch it again? Uh, ... no. Yes, it is sad and depressing, but I can handle that. The problem is that it is also very disturbing to the point of causing great discomfort. Just one of those films that I never wish to see again. Sort of like a diabetic who loves pecan pie. He wants it, but even one slice would be dangerous. Well, watching this movie would be like me a being a diabetic and eating the whole pecan pie. Thanks but no thanks.

I found this Mexican - Spanish language film listed in the book 1001 Movies You See Before You Die, it was rated very highly by critics, so I was hoping it would be another deserved entry like many others I've seen, directed by Luis Buñuel (Land Without Bread, Viridiana, Belle de Jour, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie). Basically, set in a Mexico City slum, this film shows the lives and misfortunes of a group of juvenile delinquents. Specifically it focuses on young Pedro (Alfonso Mejía), living in a world of poverty and the streets filled with crime and violence his morals are gradually corrupted an destroyed by the various characters' intimidation and cruelty. Also starring Estela Inda as Mother, Roberto Cobo as Jaibo, Jesús García Navarro as The Lost Boy, Miguel Inclán as The Blind Man, Alma Delia Fuentes as The Young Girl and Francisco Jambrina as The Principal. I will be honest and say that I could not keep up with everything going on whilst also reading subtitles, but I think to be there's not a lot I can say anyway, but it is a well observed film with some surreal moments, but a feeling of humanity throughout and many moments that get your attention, a worthwhile drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Film from any Source and the UN Award. Very good!

After watching this film several times and analyze it, all I have to say is this: ¿Why isn't this movie on the list of the best films ever made?Why isn't this movie consider a cult classic like The Seventh Seal, The 400 Blows or La Strada. In my opinion this movie is by far better than those films. Luis Buñuel's crude reflection of a reality that still happens in Mexico. Buñuel presents us a bunch of characters (specially kids) living at the streets, almost like animals surviving by instinct. I loved the fact that this movie doesn't set a solution, it is just a story about a generation of future criminals and murderers, and the story will keep going and going.these kids are The Forbidden Ones, the unborn ones.

"Los Olvidados" shows that it is often the social ills already in existence in our societies, an example being the complete lack of care and love Pedro's mother has for Pedro in most of this film, that can contribute to creating children who have social deficits – often creating anti-social and sociopathic personalities and tendencies – such as that portrayed by the characters of "El Jaibo", Pedro, and Julian. "Los Olvidados" makes it abundantly clear that even those people in society that bring forth the façade of being normal law-abiding citizens, such as Don Carmelo, the blind man, are corrupted in one form or another – Don Carmelo is a pedophile - and again, one can infer that this is due to the social imperfections of the people that were around Don Carmelo when he was a youth. To me, "Los Olvidados" showed a dystopian society – very much like the film "A Clockwork Orange", in which gangs of morally twisted youths know of nothing better else to do with their time than to take out their frustrations on everyone and anything they can. I also saw that "Los Olvidados" does not just show a hopelessly corrupt world where everyone in society has personal demons and where all hope is lost. "Los Olvidados" also shows the positive side of human nature, such as when Pedro's mother started to show signs of caring for Pedro after he was sent to the rural school, a quality that she did not show earlier in the film. Another example of the presence of moral goodness in people is when the school's principal did not punish Pedro for killing the chickens and even understanding what might have led Pedro to behave in such a violent manner and even making sure that Pedro is fed so as to enable him to think and act more logically.