The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

15/9/1972 1h 41m 7.5/10

Overview

In Luis Buñuel’s deliciously satiric masterpiece, an upper-class sextet sits down to dinner but never eats, their attempts continually thwarted by a vaudevillian mixture of events both actual and imagined.

Director

Suzanne Durrenberger

Top Billed Cast

Stéphane Audran

Stéphane Audran

Alice Sénéchal

Jean-Pierre Cassel

Jean-Pierre Cassel

Henri Sénéchal

Fernando Rey

Fernando Rey

Don Rafael

Delphine Seyrig

Delphine Seyrig

Simone Thévenot

Bulle Ogier

Bulle Ogier

Florence

Paul Frankeur

Paul Frankeur

François Thévenot

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

9/19/2022

7/10

It's quite a difficult film to review this, as it essentially has no real plot and very little structure. It is a series of dream sequences following a group of friends - each with some form of skeleton in their closet - as they try to meet for a dinner that repeatedly gets aborted. Fernando Rey is on good form as the Ambassador from the Republic of "Miranda" - a man living in fear for his life from revolutionaries at home, and who is also not averse to adding a little spice to the contents of the diplomatic bag. Jean-Pierre Cassel and Stéphane Audran are the "Sénéchal" couple - they like a bit of al fresco nookie; the "Thévenot" couple (Delphine Seyrig and Paul Frankeur) are ostensibly the most normal of the group, though the latter has a bit going on the side with "Florence" (Bulle Ogier). We are never quite sure why they are friends at all, but none of that really matters. It is the very unstructured nature of this that makes it work. Each of their dreams offers us a different - sometimes amusing, sometimes rather violent - short story as the group try to sit down to eat. Personally, I was rather fond of the gardening Bishop "Dufour" (Julien Bertheau) who seems to flit between his religious and gardening garb as if by magic. The dialogue isn't maybe the best, but the scenarios and a lot of imagination from director Luis Buñuel combine to offer us something that is quirky and entertaining. It doesn't really need a cinema screening - the production and photography are fine but really this is all about some whacky characterisations that don't always make sense, but do engage.

Similar Movies

An American Werewolf in London

7.4

An American Werewolf in London

1981

When Harry Met Sally...

7.4

When Harry Met Sally...

1989

Crocodile Dundee

6.4

Crocodile Dundee

1986

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

7.2

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

1998

Operation Petticoat

7.2

Operation Petticoat

1959

Me and My Sister

5.6

Me and My Sister

2004

Straight to Hell

5.3

Straight to Hell

1987

Found Footage Festival Volume 7: Live in Asheville

5.2

Found Footage Festival Volume 7: Live in Asheville

2014

Jack of Hearts

0.0

Jack of Hearts

2023