The Delinquents

Carlos Saura's 1960 Spanish film follows a group of young men in the slums of Madrid. One of them wants to become a bullfighter, and to cover the cost of his debut they turn to petty theft. The film does not romanticise bullfighting. The price of the dream grows quickly and the only road open to them becomes crime; the narrative signals from the start where this will end. It is Saura's first feature. The cast is non-professional, it was shot in real locations, and the manner is close to the Italian realism of the period. The film was cut by the censors and shown only in limited form at home for a long time. Who it's for: those who like the history of Spanish cinema and social realism. Who it's not for: viewers disturbed by bullfighting; the film shows it directly.