An unflinching and emotionally devastating vision of poverty and human depravation, Los Olvidados depicts the descent of a street urchin from petty delinquent to accomplice in murder under the unwanted tutelage of Jaibo, a member of his street gang recently released from detention. Made nearly twenty years after his early surreal masterpieces, Los Olvidados marked Buñuel’s return to filmmaking after an extended artistic exile. Using hard-edged, neorealist observational techniques supplemented by Hollywood closeups and soft focus, Buñuel’s film is a bold and courageous cinematic experiment, unique in the era for its strong social concerns.