Juan Meyer

A small comic masterpiece by Luis Buñuel, and a beautiful portrayal of Mexico City in the 50s.
Mexico City’s transport company is putting its streetcars out of service to be replaced by buses, so, after getting drunk at a December pastorela party, two streetcar operators “steal” a car, and take it for one heroic last ride. One is leading man Carlos Navarro and the other is comedian Fernando Soto Mantequilla.
This can only be considered minor Bunuel in the sense that it is a gentle comedy and compared to the major masterpieces of the 60s, but this can easily stand with comedies by Sturges or Luis Garcia Berlanga.
There are not big surreal touches, but Mexico City is surreal enough. As this last insurgent ride takes place, people keep boarding the streetcar, early morning street vendors, office workers, even a group of school kids. It’s a great snapshot of city life of the era, with different social classes mingling and creating hilarious situations. 
It is all concocted by some of Mexico’s finest screenwriters including Luis Alcoriza, Jose Revueltas, Mauricio de la Serna, adapting a short story by Juan de la Cabada; it seems influenced by Alejandro Galindo bus movie of the 40s, Esquina Bajan, but it is infinitely better.
Will the guys get caught and lose their job before returning the car to the station? This is the 50s with no Internet, cell phones, etc, so yes, maybe they can. Find out for yourself, the movie is on YouTube.

Stranger by the Lake by Alain Guiraudieu is one of the best films of the 2010s, but Misericordia might be one of the worst of this decade.
It’s a crummy piece of Euro metaphysical malaise. You know, like Borgman, Dogville, The White Ribbon, and all its countless copycats. The film starts realistically but then you realize you are in symbolism world, as things get ominous, a low budget Teorema sans the star power. The mother needs a son, the priest a lover, there are a couple of penises, one erect (so transgressive).
But it’s not very interesting, it’s just outlandish and dull, Guiraudieu doesn’t show the filmmaking virtuosity this type of story needs. We are in Mysterious Visitor territory, like Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance, Losey’s The Servant or Family Game.
Most ecstatic reviews point out the film’s celebration of desire, as if our culture hadn’t been celebrating desire since at least 40 years ago, if not more. 
Cahiers du Cinema named it Best Film of 2024, which is always an invitation, and a warning. Moviejohn at Letterboxd