The River and Death (1954) review

In the (fictitious) village of Santa Viviana, a blood feud between two families - the Anguianos and the Menchacas - has been going on for entirely too long (it all began with a perceived insult followed by a stabbing), so one day Rómulo Menchaca (Jaime Fernández) pays a visit to Dr. Gerardo Anguiano (Joaquín Cordero) in Mexico City to threaten his life, except the physician is in an iron lung being treated for polio.  For all of Buñuel's extraordinary abilities this particular topic seems a little beneath him (which might explain why it feels like he's going through the motions): even though these multi-generational conflicts have taken place in the past (most famously the Hatfield-McCoy one in Kentucky and West Virginia) no one of sound mind can possibly find this bloodthirsty behavior acceptable, and it's way too easy to condemn anyone that wants it to continue.  It's also a little too easy to say that having a college degree is the major factor in stopping you from becoming a murderer: one of my alma mater's most infamous graduates was the subject of the HBO series The Jinx.