The River and Death

The River and Death is a 1954 Mexican film. It was written by Luis Alcoriza and directed by Luis Buñuel.
The film is an adaptation of Miguel Álvarez Acosta's 1952 novel Muro blanco en roca negra.

Cast

Columba Domínguez as Mercedes
Miguel Torruco as Felipe Anguiano
Joaquín Cordero as Gerardo Anguiano
Jaime Fernández as Romulo Menchaca
Víctor Alcocer as Polo Menchaca
Silvia Derbez as Elsa
José Elías Moreno as Don Nemesio
Carlos Martínez Baena as Don Julian
Alfredo Varela as Chinelas
Miguel Manzano as don Anselmo

Background

The film, an adaptation of a novel about blood revenge that has lasted for several generations, is so country-specific that the audience at the Venice Film Festival thought it was a comedy. Buñuel takes great pains in his autobiography to show that the despicable events portrayed in the film were even surpassed by reality.