06-01-2025, 09:38 AM
We (Greg & I) went through our Luis Bunuel phase and it's been forever since I checked in with one of his films. This is arguably Bunuel's most famous but I couldn't remember it at all. Catherine Deneuve is a frigid housewife with a dashingly handsome and compassionate husband, but she rebuffs his advances. Meanwhile she secretly takes a job as a high class prostitute during the day.
It's daring for '67. No frontal nudity but plenty of Deneuve, who is stunning in the role. I can't quite understand her characters motivations, and it glamorizes prostitution for the most part, which feels dated in how it's portrayed. It's an exploration of French kink, which is as surreal as this gets. There's the infamous box scene where a John shows a box to the three prostitutes and 2 flinch while one gets excited. We never see what's in the box. That's so Bunuel. But on the whole, the film is mostly conventional. Those surreal touches that made me a fan of Bunuel are downplayed, which is probably why this film was so successful, that and the FIN, the final mcguffin, which is heart wrenching.
A good watch - a classic of the kind that I expect from Criterion - but particularly D00M recommended.
It's daring for '67. No frontal nudity but plenty of Deneuve, who is stunning in the role. I can't quite understand her characters motivations, and it glamorizes prostitution for the most part, which feels dated in how it's portrayed. It's an exploration of French kink, which is as surreal as this gets. There's the infamous box scene where a John shows a box to the three prostitutes and 2 flinch while one gets excited. We never see what's in the box. That's so Bunuel. But on the whole, the film is mostly conventional. Those surreal touches that made me a fan of Bunuel are downplayed, which is probably why this film was so successful, that and the FIN, the final mcguffin, which is heart wrenching.
A good watch - a classic of the kind that I expect from Criterion - but particularly D00M recommended.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
