Two drifters go on a pilgrimage from France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Along the way, they hitchhike, beg for food, and face the Christian dogmas and heresies from different Ages.
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Title: The Milky Way (1969)
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1 win & 1 nomination.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Paul Frankeur | ... | Pierre | |
| Laurent Terzieff | ... | Jean | |
| Alain Cuny | ... | L'homme à la cape / Man with cape | |
| Edith Scob | ... | La Vierge Marie / Virgin Mary | |
| Bernard Verley | ... | Jésus / Jesus | |
 |
François Maistre | ... | Le curé fou / French Priest |
| Claude Cerval | ... | Le brigadier / Brigadier | |
| Muni | ... | La mère supérieure / Mother Superior | |
| Julien Bertheau | ... | Richard 'maître d'hôtel' / Maitre d'Hotel | |
|
|
Ellen Bahl | ... | Madame Garnier |
| Michel Piccoli | ... | Le marquis de Sade / The Marquis | |
|
|
Agnès Capri | ... | La directrice de l'institution Lamartine / Teacher |
|
|
Michel Etcheverry | ... | L'inquisiteur / The Inquisitor |
| Pierre Clémenti | ... | L'ange de la mort / The Devil | |
| Georges Marchal | ... | Le jésuite / The Jesuit | |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
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Storyline
Two drifters go on a pilgrimage from France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Along the way, they hitchhike, beg for food, and face the Christian dogmas and heresies from different Ages.
Plot Keywords:
reference to the virgin mary | nun | philosophy | absurd | blindness |Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
15 March 1969 (France) See more »Also Known As:
The Milky Way See more »Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The stories in Voie lactée, La (1969) are based on real historical episodes. Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière did extensive research for the film, primarily in the _Dictionary of Heresies_ by Abbé Pluquet. See more »Goofs
Early in the film, as the two pilgrims are on the shoulder of the highway, the shadow of the boom mic is clearly visible moving from right to left across the grass and finally off screen. See more »Quotes
Rodolphe, un étudiant protestant: Faith doesn't come to us through reason but through the heartSee more »
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Le fantôme de la liberté (Buñuel, 1974) seems to take off right from this film as if it were a sequel, visually and conceptually. This film however is much more determined to denounce the contradictions and hypocrisy of different religions, while Fantôme has even more artistic freedom. Also this is much more coherent and if there is any danger of getting heavy-handed, Buñuel knows how to joke himself a way out using illusionism or a mild shock-treatment. It is simultaneously very rational and miraculous. The anti-clericism and subversive desires frequently come to the surreal surface. I can't help but see this as an inspiration for Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' (1979), because that film also remotely feels like an off the wall road movie in which anything can happen.
The subject matter was sort of tough for an atheist (heretic?) like me, but the humour with which Buñuel lets the characters throw the crucial differences between religions at each other is hilarious. E.g. in the middle of a duel between a Catholic and a Jesuit: 'Prior will is mere impulse. My thoughts and my will are not in my own power ... ma liberte est un fantôme.' 'What does freedom mean anyway? How can I be free if what I do is determined in advance?' etc. And why would all the personnel of a restaurant be caught up in an eloquent discussion about the existence of God while they are at work? See for yourself. Cinematographer Christian Matras (also Le Grande Illusion, 1937) continues to improve Buñuel's visual style using zoom-pan-zoom shots for instance, but keeps it sober.
9/10