Caught a spur-of-the-moment screening of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie at Metrograph. I’ve been trying to watch this Luis Bunuel classic for quite some time now; unfortunately, it’s currently out of print, so home video copies tend to be prohibitively expensive—thus leaving my appetite unsatisfied (much like the film’s protagonists).
Glad I finally had the opportunity to see it; this is absurdist comedy at its finest. It features all the elements of great humor: classism, fascism, terrorism, political corruption, drug trafficking, police brutality, murder, infidelity, and ghosts. The loose, episodic plot (which often wanders off on bizarre tangents) follows its own unique brand of surreal, dreamlike logic, even before it delves into actual dream sequences (including a few dreams-within-dreams, which baffle even the characters experiencing them). It’s pitch-black, razor-sharp social satire that pulls no punches, takes no prisoners, and gives absolutely zero fucks—and I adored every minute of it.
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