One of my all time favorites.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This came in the outstanding 10-DVD boxed set 'Rialto Pictures: 10 Years', one of the finest things I've bought from The Criterion Collection (and a great deal too, one I'd heartily endorse).I had to wait an entire day, after watching the dreadful 'Disaster Movie', to get the acrid taste out of my mouth to watch this one, by my fourth favourite director ever ('Viridiana' is still probably my favourite of his, though). Luckily it had three of my favourite French actors from the period, in Bulle Ogier (just check out 'Maitresse' if you don't understand why), Delphine Seyrig and Fernando Rey (for the two 'French Connection' films alone)--even though for a director of Bunuel's strength, any actors could have sufficed. It's the ideas that stand out most triumphantly.It's most known for being Bunuel's Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film, but its OTHER nomination is what's almost neglected when people talk about him. Yes, they talk about Bunuel the director, or (from David Thomson) Bunuel the photographer, but people never realize his two nominations for the Calanda, Spain-native were never for director, but for writing (with another nod for his swan song, 'The Obscure Object of Desire').

Academy Award-winner The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a largely surreal comedy film, following a few characters, including a corrupt ambassador from a fictional Latin American country, Miranda. As the title suggests, to a degree it's about uncovering the true, and not necessarily clean, life of the bourgeoisie. It has some success, and also as the title suggests, charm there. I laughed at the couple sneaking out to have sex, coming back to greet their guests with grass in their hair. Some of the characters are involved in drugs. Some resort to violence. There are other absurd things that made me laugh- the man shooting a toy is one.Some things also stood out, not necessarily for comic value. The childhood memory the lieutenant had of his mother's ghost convincing him to kill his evil guardian isn't funny, but is an interesting twist to an already-abstract film. Later, the priest finding himself having to bless the man who killed his parents is another twist, and it's interesting to see how the priest will react to the situation.That said, I found myself enjoying the first half more so than the rest of the film. As we delve deeper into the dreams within dreams, the film loses its structure, and I found myself wanting more plot. Even with the beginning, the laughs weren't coming as fast and furiously as I would have liked. Ultimately, this is a film catered to a certain taste that won't work with everybody.

French-Italian-Spanish co-production under the helm of director Luis Buñuel concerning an odd-duck group of upper-class friends and acquaintances in Paris who meet often for meals and conversation, only to rarely savor their cuisine due to a peculiar series of interruptions. Buñuel, who also co-authored the screenplay with Jean-Claude Carrière, at times gently skewers the hungry wealthy; his characters are not decadent nor lazy, perhaps just comically fettered; the filmmaker doesn't score points against their lives as much as he prods the folly of their ways. The lapses of reality into a satirical daisy-chain of dreams is surprising at first but finally monotonous, especially as Buñuel becomes less sly here and more mean-spirited (I could have done without the police interrogation and the piano torture). Still, there are some marvelous visual touches (such as the dinner table on-stage) accompanied by a subtle yet vivid use of color, and the cast is uniformly excellent. Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film. **1/2 from ****

I'm just experiencing Bunuel for the first time. I am captivated. Having seen the darker Exterminating Angel first, I had a sense of what he is about. This is another surreal effort that puts upper class people in a situation where they seem to have free will, yet are at the whim of some outside force. Of course, there is always the possibility that the problems lie in their minds. Is it Freudian or Jungian or what? In this a group of wealthy people attempt to eat several meals and are cut off at the pass by several forces, not allowing a conclusion. They are also interesting characters. The women are snobbish and sensual, cold and calculating; one is a drunk. The men are involved in illegal activities and seem to pay a great price. Or do they? That's the issue. They seem to be saddled with guilt. Every so often, a non-sequitir comes along, stops whatever plot has developed, and another dinner is served. A young lieutenant tells the tale of a double murder of his parents and his vengeance. Soldiers appear at dinner. Police arrest them. They are unscathed. I can not tell you any more about what this means because I'm not even sure Bunuel can. It is a striking piece of work, full of humor, disease, and class warfare. Interesting.