The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

I rented The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and was blown away by this amazing classic. If you enjoy European movies, especially French cinema, don’t miss this one. I found out it was one of Yorgos Lanthimos' inspirations—he's one of my favorite directors. That connection made me want to watch it, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a surreal and thought-provoking film that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Highly recommend!

This is one of Spanish director Luis Bunuel's finest, most subtle surrealist comedies. At least his films are often classed as comedies -- they're more an assault on our senses and conventions. The 'plot' (if one can call it that) unwinds slowly -- the fulcrum being the absurd situation of a group of socialite friends who are attempting to ....... no, better see for yourself than have me disclose it. It's enough to say that if you enjoy the Marx Brothers, or Pedro Almodovar, you'll adore Luis Bunuel. He has the comedy of the former and the anarchy of the latter, but his dagger is always that little bit sharper and more deadly. The promised Criterion issue is on two discs for a running time of almost three hours; the usual cinema version is less than two hours, so there must be some great supplements coming our way. Let's hope for more Bunuel on DVD -- next up should be his classic silent film 'Un Chien Andalou', in the 'sonorised' version prepared in the 1950s, when Bunuel himself added a soundtrack of the music he always envisaged as part of the film, ranging from Argentinian tangoes to the 'Love-Death' from 'Tristan and Isolde'.

Undoubtedly the DVD box presented by Criterion deserves 5 stars. Apart from the superb copy of THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, you will be able to watch a documentary produced by french and spanish television about Luis Bunuel's career with a lot of accurate interviews of the friends, the family and the actors who have surrounded the spanish genius. A second documentary will lead you into Bunuel's home before giving you the opportunity to discover some cocktails recipes invented by Bunuel.In the late 20's, Luis Bunuel was an active member of the surrealist movement and gave to the cinema a unique masterpiece, UN CHIEN ANDALOU, whose screenplay had been written by Salvador Dali. For nearly 50 years, the cinematographic world of Luis Bunuel has been filled with the anarchic ideas of this movement and, if you don't know any of his movies, you are going to be a little bit puzzled by THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE. Before entering this world, you must learn to forget to ask " why ". Why are these people wandering through french landscapes ? Why does this bishop want so badly to become a gardener ? Why does this soldier have the urge to confess the dream he had the night before ? and so on. There are no particular meanings in these actions, they are just part of the world of one of the best film directors of the XXth century.A healthy DVD.

I enjoy foreign films I've been curious about this movie years. I'm glad I had an opportunity to see it on Amazon as opposed to just buying it unseen.

A really greatly entertaining movie, even though the messafe is hidden deep inside the characters actions, I believe the "charm" of the middle class (bourgeoisie) lies in the fact that they never take life too seriously. The movie ends with the characters wking down a roadway with no apparent destination in mind, all of them just going along wherever the world takes them. Federico Fellini had used this topic before in La Dolce Vita where the troop of characters ends up at the beach with no definite place to go. But Buñuel himself had used this device before, most notably in The Exterminating Angel, where all the characters end up inside a church with no way to exit it. Here Buñuel appears to be saying: "Life is a stretch of green fields, sunny roads and blue skies; do not stop, just keep walking."

If this is your taste (thought-provoking, surreal, disturbing, avant-garde, funny, funny, irritating, discomforting, sleek, bewildering, original), you’ll like it. I’m certainly very glad I finally saw it!

I can't comprehend how anyone could find this film uninteresting. It is a classic Bunuel middle-finger to upper-crust manners; to ardent religiosity; to militant rule of law -- essentially, he's subverting everything that people hold sacred and unimpeachable, and doing so entertainingly and brilliantly. I laughed out loud at least 5 times, and was giddily amused with the device of characters constantly awaking from nightmares that initially seemed to be reality. Really superb film.

Funny movie. Enjoyed watching it after having watched the movie many years ago but a bit Passe.