El Gran Calavera (The Great Madcap) (Mexico 1949)

Directed by Luis Bunuel. One if his many Mexican-period films, all done on small budgets, often obscure, often dismissed as cheapo trifles -- yet nowadays studied, enjoyed and praised by connoisseurs. Here, a millionaire teaches his greedy, good-for-nothing family a lesson: he pretends to be bankrupt. This sets all kinds of people and things into motion. If it sounds like a Frank Capra comedy up to a point, it is, indeed. But unlike Capra, Bunuel was anything but a romantic. He mocks at the same time Hollywood structures and Mexican life and mores. All this in his non-conformist way. Highly recommended.