La ilusión viaja en tranvía (Illusion Travels by Streetcar). 1954. Mexico. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Screenplay by Luis Alcoriza, Buñuel. With Lilia Prado, Carlos Navarro, Fernando Soto, Agustín Isunza. In Spanish; English subtitles. DCP. 90 min.
One of the few films in the Buñuel canon that can be fairly described as “charming,” this is a folk comedy made for local consumption that offers warmly drawn characters – a streetcar conductor (Carlos Navarro) and his driver (Fernando Soto) – and a panoramic vision of a non-touristic, after-hours Mexico City. Learning that their beloved car number 133 is about to be retired, the boys take her out for one last spin, which leads to an evolving series of encounters: with slaughterhouse workers leaving the night shift (taking home some samples with them), a group of schoolboys on an outing, various outraged bourgeoisie and the driver’s beautiful sister, played with verve by Lilia Prado.