A surreal, virtually plotless series of dreams centered around six middle-class people and their consistently interrupted attempts to have a meal together.
Recounted in flashback are the romantic perils of Mathieu, a middle-aged French sophisticate as he falls for his nineteen year-old former chambermaid Conchita.
Director:
Luis Buñuel
Stars:
Fernando Rey,
Carole Bouquet,
Ángela Molina
Shortly after her mother's death, an innocent and youthful woman will find refuge into the household of her middle-aged aristocratic guardian, who will submit her to his sexual advances.
Director:
Luis Buñuel
Stars:
Catherine Deneuve,
Fernando Rey,
Franco Nero
A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, and the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.
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.
Director:
Luis Buñuel
Stars:
Paul Frankeur,
Laurent Terzieff,
Alain Cuny
Celestine, the chambermaid, has new job on the country. The Monteils, who she works for are a group of strange people. The wife is frigid, her husband is always hunting (both animals and ... See full summary »
Director:
Luis Buñuel
Stars:
Jeanne Moreau,
Georges Géret,
Michel Piccoli
Simon, a deeply religious man living in the 4th century, wants to be nearer to God so he climbs a column. The Devil wants him come down to Earth and is trying to seduce him.
A surrealist tale of a man and a woman who are passionately in love with each other, but their attempts to consummate that passion are constantly thwarted by their families, the Church, and bourgeois society.
Director:
Luis Buñuel
Stars:
Gaston Modot,
Lya Lys,
Caridad de Laberdesque
Several bourgeois friends planning to get together for dinner experience a succession of highly unusual occurrences that interfere with their expected dining enjoyment.Written by
Ed Cannon <ecannon@mail.utexas.edu>
In an interview, co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière revealed he and Bunuel had a starting point for the story but then became stuck. After meeting with the Producer, Serge Silberman, Silberman gave them inspiration when he recounted a story of how he had run into two Brazilian friends in the streets of Paris. Silberman invited these friends to do dinner the following Tuesday, forgetting that he had another dinner that day. It happened so quickly the producer forgot to tell his wife. The two Brazilians and their wives turned up to the Silberman household on the Tuesday night after Mrs Silberman had eaten and settled down for the night, and was watching TV in her dressing gown when the doorbell rang. This real-life event was used in the film for a similar scene. See more »
Goofs
After sending the terrorist out of his apartment, Rafael's position in the windows changes between shots. See more »
This is an odd little film about some people who never do get to sit down to the meal they plan on having. A lot of weird and unexpected stuff intervenes--during which you learn a little more about the characters (particularly how unlikeable some of them are). The problem I had with the movie is this--it just wasn't very interesting and I repeatedly felt like turning it off because I found it more boring than compelling. Now this is not because of the surreal nature of the film--I have a relatively high tolerance for the strange and unconventional (just look at my glowing review for the VERY surreal Happiness of Katakuris). It's just that strange as it was, it just wasn't too interesting nor was it weird enough to make that great an impression. I know it puts me in a very small minority, but most of the Luis Buñuel films I have seen were not that compelling--odd yes, but not particularly interesting. About the only one I really liked was the sad film "Tristan".
UPDATE: I've seen most of the director's films since I wrote this review. I did find several (other than "Tristan") that I really did like. However, I still think he had about as many hits as misses and feel he was a bit overrated. But, films like "Robinson Crusoe" and "The Young One" are indeed exceptional films.
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This is an odd little film about some people who never do get to sit down to the meal they plan on having. A lot of weird and unexpected stuff intervenes--during which you learn a little more about the characters (particularly how unlikeable some of them are). The problem I had with the movie is this--it just wasn't very interesting and I repeatedly felt like turning it off because I found it more boring than compelling. Now this is not because of the surreal nature of the film--I have a relatively high tolerance for the strange and unconventional (just look at my glowing review for the VERY surreal Happiness of Katakuris). It's just that strange as it was, it just wasn't too interesting nor was it weird enough to make that great an impression. I know it puts me in a very small minority, but most of the Luis Buñuel films I have seen were not that compelling--odd yes, but not particularly interesting. About the only one I really liked was the sad film "Tristan".
UPDATE: I've seen most of the director's films since I wrote this review. I did find several (other than "Tristan") that I really did like. However, I still think he had about as many hits as misses and feel he was a bit overrated. But, films like "Robinson Crusoe" and "The Young One" are indeed exceptional films.