Post by klep on May 18, 2020 7:15:47 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/18: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
HANGOUT WEEK!
CW: Sexual Assault
With 1962's The Exterminating Angel it felt fair to say that Luis Buñuel did not like the rich very much. Ten years later in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie it seems now that he finds them more ridiculous than anything else.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is something of a mirror to that earlier film. Instead of people coming to dinner and being unable to leave, they are always arriving at dinner (or tea, or lunch) and never able to properly start it. Circumstance and their own foibles keep getting in the way, whether a miscommunicated date, a dead body in the other room, or a desire for a quickie before the meal.
Buñuel spends much of the film lampooning his characters' hypocrisy and smug superiority, and it builds with time. The initial confusion over the agreed date for dinner is something that could happen to anyone and would be unremarkable were it not for both Don Rafael Ferdando Rey) and Henri Sénéchal (Jean-Pierre Cassel) each repeatedly insisting they could not possibly have gotten it wrong.
And then we learn the two of them and their friend François (Paul Frankeur) are drug runners and Rafael takes a potshot at someone outside with a rifle. Later in the film of course they will condemn drug users in no uncertain terms. Henri and his wife Alice (Stéphane Audran) are hosting the others for lunch at one point but sneak out when their guests arrive so they can have sex without them hearing, ruining another attempt at a meal because they either can't control their lust or just refuse to put anything above their own immediate desires.
Buñuel does save some real contempt for the upper class authority figures in his film, however. Julien Bertheau plays a Bishop who signs on as a gardener for the Sénéchals. He plays at being humble, but clearly enjoys the deferential treatment he gets and delights in the company of the upper class and being served. Late in the film he's called to administer last rites to a dying man. When the Bishop hears the man confess to killing the Bishop's parents, the Bishop feigns forgiveness and then immediately grabs a rifle and shoots him.
Similarly Rafael is an ambassador from the fictional nation of Miranda. He uses his diplomatic immunity to smuggle drugs, and complains of "terrorists" out to get him. When one revolutionary does try to kill him, he shows exactly why she wants to by freely groping her and then having her abducted off the street by plainclothes thugs. Later at a party he is beset by guests who question him about the terrible conditions in Miranda and the brutal regime he is a part of, and on another occasion he makes apologies for a concentration camp guard who had recently been apprehended living in Miranda. He is an execrable figure and it is no surprise that his end is brought about by his own uncontrollable avarice.
Buñuel flits around from scene to scene as he pleases, and many of them prove to be dream sequences or otherwise imaginary. It's clear it doesn't matter to Buñuel whether any of them really happened, and we don't care either. It's a film made with the freedom and wisdom of an old man who knows the rules don't really matter as long as what he wants to say comes across. But it's also a comedy, and Buñuel is entertaining himself above all. He throws in lots of surreal touches and delightful jokes like when the group sits down to eat only to discover they're on stage at a play, or when the Sénéchals' young-looking maid Ines reveals she's 52 (Milena Vukotic was only 37 at the time). The misadventures of the upper class are played largely for laughs, and even the final sting of their deaths feels comedic. After all this is a hangout movie, and while in most hangout movies the cast has a great time, the people who most need to have a good time are in the audience.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/25: What's Up, Doc?
MAKE 'EM LAUGH WEEK!
Next week we'll be watching and talking about What's Up, Doc?, a classic screwball from Peter Bogdanovich. Starring a young Barbra Streisand, this slapstick-filled comedy is routinely cited as one of the greatest comedies ever made. Be sure to join our discussion next week of What's Up, Doc?, available for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 5/19: Almost Famous
The podcast ventures into the world of criticism, pairing this Cameron Crowe classic with the new Coky Giedroyc film How to Build a Girl. Join us Wednesday for a discussion of the older film, available for rent in the usual places.
HANGOUT WEEK!
CW: Sexual Assault
With 1962's The Exterminating Angel it felt fair to say that Luis Buñuel did not like the rich very much. Ten years later in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie it seems now that he finds them more ridiculous than anything else.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is something of a mirror to that earlier film. Instead of people coming to dinner and being unable to leave, they are always arriving at dinner (or tea, or lunch) and never able to properly start it. Circumstance and their own foibles keep getting in the way, whether a miscommunicated date, a dead body in the other room, or a desire for a quickie before the meal.
Buñuel spends much of the film lampooning his characters' hypocrisy and smug superiority, and it builds with time. The initial confusion over the agreed date for dinner is something that could happen to anyone and would be unremarkable were it not for both Don Rafael Ferdando Rey) and Henri Sénéchal (Jean-Pierre Cassel) each repeatedly insisting they could not possibly have gotten it wrong.
And then we learn the two of them and their friend François (Paul Frankeur) are drug runners and Rafael takes a potshot at someone outside with a rifle. Later in the film of course they will condemn drug users in no uncertain terms. Henri and his wife Alice (Stéphane Audran) are hosting the others for lunch at one point but sneak out when their guests arrive so they can have sex without them hearing, ruining another attempt at a meal because they either can't control their lust or just refuse to put anything above their own immediate desires.
Buñuel does save some real contempt for the upper class authority figures in his film, however. Julien Bertheau plays a Bishop who signs on as a gardener for the Sénéchals. He plays at being humble, but clearly enjoys the deferential treatment he gets and delights in the company of the upper class and being served. Late in the film he's called to administer last rites to a dying man. When the Bishop hears the man confess to killing the Bishop's parents, the Bishop feigns forgiveness and then immediately grabs a rifle and shoots him.
Similarly Rafael is an ambassador from the fictional nation of Miranda. He uses his diplomatic immunity to smuggle drugs, and complains of "terrorists" out to get him. When one revolutionary does try to kill him, he shows exactly why she wants to by freely groping her and then having her abducted off the street by plainclothes thugs. Later at a party he is beset by guests who question him about the terrible conditions in Miranda and the brutal regime he is a part of, and on another occasion he makes apologies for a concentration camp guard who had recently been apprehended living in Miranda. He is an execrable figure and it is no surprise that his end is brought about by his own uncontrollable avarice.
Buñuel flits around from scene to scene as he pleases, and many of them prove to be dream sequences or otherwise imaginary. It's clear it doesn't matter to Buñuel whether any of them really happened, and we don't care either. It's a film made with the freedom and wisdom of an old man who knows the rules don't really matter as long as what he wants to say comes across. But it's also a comedy, and Buñuel is entertaining himself above all. He throws in lots of surreal touches and delightful jokes like when the group sits down to eat only to discover they're on stage at a play, or when the Sénéchals' young-looking maid Ines reveals she's 52 (Milena Vukotic was only 37 at the time). The misadventures of the upper class are played largely for laughs, and even the final sting of their deaths feels comedic. After all this is a hangout movie, and while in most hangout movies the cast has a great time, the people who most need to have a good time are in the audience.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/25: What's Up, Doc?
MAKE 'EM LAUGH WEEK!
Next week we'll be watching and talking about What's Up, Doc?, a classic screwball from Peter Bogdanovich. Starring a young Barbra Streisand, this slapstick-filled comedy is routinely cited as one of the greatest comedies ever made. Be sure to join our discussion next week of What's Up, Doc?, available for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 5/19: Almost Famous
The podcast ventures into the world of criticism, pairing this Cameron Crowe classic with the new Coky Giedroyc film How to Build a Girl. Join us Wednesday for a discussion of the older film, available for rent in the usual places.