Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p16

27/02/2014 07:47 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p15

27/02/2014 07:44 par tellurikwaves

The Discreet Charm in México
10/10
Author: Edgar Soberón Torchia (estorchia@gmail.com) from Panama
25 June 2006

I discovered surrealist cinema as an adult. Of course, there are such scenes and images in many films, but I saw the first complete surrealist movie as a grown up. It was "Belle de jour", a film by Luis Buñuel, whose work I knew since watching his "Robinson Crusoe" in my childhood. Buñuel had gone a long way since 1928's "Un chien andalou", made in France. He had gone into exile during the Spanish Civil War, first to the United States and finally to México, where he spent the rest of his life. But he made films in Europe now and then, and had regained his status as one of the masters of world cinema.

Although he did not think much of his Mexican motion pictures, his masterpiece "El ángel exterminador" is my favorite of all his films. He once complained that Mexican actors were not able to convey the spirit of the "haute bourgeoisie", but what he did not take into consideration was that, if he made a film in México about the rich, he was dealing with something else, called "creole oligarchies." And in this sense, this farce of the 1960s'

Latin American "filthy rich" is most accurate. Moreover, with his usual affectionate treatment of the bourgeois (something he rarely did with clergy, female characters, or street urchins), he created a most believable funny portrait of the Latino rich people, who do not know what is their origin, who they should "pay tribute to", or where they are headed, unlike their European ancestors. Here, a group of those characters, born in México, gather for dinner after an opera performance, but when the time comes to leave the house of the Nobiles they cannot leave the room where they reunited for gossiping after meal.

There is no apparent reason they cannot leave, but there they stay for days, going back to a primitive state in which their dearest "discreet charm (euphemism, the rule of the game, as in Renoir's 1939 film) vanishes. And when they are set free, and go to a church to thank the Lord... well, Buñuel sure knew how to make fun of them, with situations verging on the fantastic and funny lines of incoherent, silly or ridiculous dialogue. A wonderful movie, which is always fun to watch again, especially in a double bill with another gem, the last one Buñuel made in México: "Simón del desierto."

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p14

27/02/2014 07:42 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p13

27/02/2014 07:40 par tellurikwaves

still one of the top comedies about utter frustration
10/10
Author: MisterWhiplash from United States
20 August 2005

The Exterminating Angel, what a movie- I've seen it twice now and each time it went against (in the best possible way) my better logic. It's a work that's the product of a kind of madman place, and it stays impressive forty plus years later due to its humor. Like Dr. Strangelove, or maybe more so akin to a Kafka work submerged in Catholic plague, the film subverts expectations. At the start of the film, Luis Bunuel makes it clear as day that his only explanation is that its nonsense. If one were wanting to dig on a pure comedy level it would work because the dialog is so strange and out of place (if taken seriously) but consistently so, and the timing of the sort of downward spiral that plunges into the denouement (if there is one). If one were wanting to look at it for more of the technical reasons, its peerless- Bunuel has a steady, carefully controlled camera, quite tradition at times. But then at others he reveals his revealing, awesome flashes of symbolism, which may or may not fly over some viewers heads.

And then, if one were to go so far, on an existential level it goes into the realm of nothingness, a kind of study of how a nonsensical existence, trapped for reasons not made clear to the viewer (barely to the rich cast of bourgeois, a running gag almost), which also calls in the Kafka aspect. By the hand of a surrealist comes a deadpan satire, and it almost becomes a dark fable (the Catholic aspect to the film) by the end. It's a rather shocking film on the first try, which is why it probably had some controversy when it first opened. Giving it another chance, the film works better, on a more sensory level almost. This is the kind of film where you're either scratching your head and turning it off midway through, or laughing (while in the grips of cringing perhaps) and in a weird awe. One of Bunuel's very best Mexican films.

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p12

27/02/2014 07:37 par tellurikwaves

An excellent surrealist fantasy

8/10
Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England
31 October 2005

I can't say that I'm a big fan of director Luis Buñuel. While I admire his visual flair - his movies often lack backbone, and this brings them down. The Exterminating Angel is the first Buñuel movie that I've really enjoyed. I enjoyed it because I never got the impression that the point of this film was simply to be weird. Buñuel has found a premise - basically, a satire on the behaviour of the upper class - and lampooned it brilliantly. The key to this movie is setting up the central plot, and the director does such a good job of it that after a while; we don't care that the film is based on an idea that makes no sense at all, and are just able to run with it.

The film follows a bunch of guests at a dinner party. At the end of the party, none of them make any effort to go home and after a while it becomes apparent to the party that they physically cannot leave the room. We then watch as the upper class, people who are used to sipping champagne and smoking expensive cigars are reduced to surviving in the most basic ways. They have to hack through the wall to find a water pipe and even begin eating paper to quench their hunger…

The satire works because the acting is just so different to the way that the upper class usually conduct themselves - either on screen or otherwise. The structure of the social classes is clearly defined by Buñuel's film also. This is the sort of thing that would really scare the rich, while other social classes have other things to worry about. Before the nightmare begins, various people are commenting on the conduct of one of their own who has had slightly too much to drink. This wouldn't worry anyone who isn't 'high society', but the fact that these people do care about it shows the difference in values between the classes. Buñuel directs the film with almost a complete lack of emotion towards the central ensemble - and this stood out to me as it really allows the film to be funny.

It's almost like the director is laughing at the situation that he's put his cast of characters into, which suggests that the Spanish director isn't the biggest fan of the upper classes. There's a million and one ways that this film could be interpreted, and that is what makes it great. If you don't like films that don't make sense; this probably won't do much for you. However, I think that this is one of those films that need to be experienced; and I definitely recommend it.

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p11

27/02/2014 07:34 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p10

27/02/2014 07:31 par tellurikwaves

An explanation? There is none.
8/10
Author: dbdumonteil
23 October 2003

That was what Luis Bunuel used to answer when asked about the meaning of one of his least accessible works.Much less linear than "Viridiana" -featuring the same actress Silvia Pinal-which precedes it,"El Angel exterminador" can be looked upon as an allegory.We find a lot of permanent features of the Bunuel canon in it though.

The fact that the guests cannot leave the luxury house will find an equivalent in "le charme discret de la bourgeoisie"(1972) when the five characters cannot have a good meal at the restaurant;the guests turning like lions in a cage echo to this strange picture of the five heroes of "charme discret" walking on an endless road.This is the kind of movie that will have as many interpretations as there are users writing about it.And Bunuel would probably be the first to say that anyone is allowed to see his movie as he feels it in his soul -which is a word he would not certainly approve of though.

Another put-down of the bourgeoisie ,probably;As Charlie Chaplin would not have let an ice-cream fall on a poor woman's dress,Bunuel's wholesale massacre concerns the rich,the well-to-do.The house may be a metaphor for their world which they want to keep exactly as it is.But Bunuel soon scratches the varnish and after long hours,his powerful bourgeois are just men and rather hateful selfish cowards -the scene when they rush to get a glass of water.

And as they cannot rely on themselves and on their pals,the only assistance can only come from above:so they promise God they will chant Te Deums, they will go to Lourdes and buy a washable rubber Virgin (sic).Surrealist pictures,which had been absent since "cela s'appelle l'aurore" (1955) come back for a while during one night,and they mainly deal with religion and heaven.The mystery of the night hours will come back in "le fantôme de la liberté" (1974)

The last pictures bring the missing link :the army ,shooting people (talking about a revolution?) ,as the bourgeois keep on singing(?) and praying(?)in the cathedral.Recommended?Everything Bunuel did is crying to be watched.

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p9

27/02/2014 07:28 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR de Luis Bunuel (1962) p8

27/02/2014 07:26 par tellurikwaves

Silvia Pinal

*

*

*

DVD Classik
Re-découverte totale d'un film dont je n'avais plus de souvenirs (merci Brion !) alors que c'est pourtant un grand Bunuel de la période mexicaine et qui dès le début annonce un OVNI (combien de projectionnistes - et de spectateurs - ont du se prendre la tête en croyant à un doublon de bobine en voyant deux fois la - presque même séquence de l'entrée des protagonistes dans le hall de la villa ). Un essai fantastico-surréaliste, voyage en Absurdie mâtiné de psychanalyse de contes de fées pour grands enfants, le tout avec la patte de don Luis pour s'amuser de la culture judéo-chrétienne (les moutons, l'ours, le discours hilarant d'une femme malade promettant de se rendre à Lourdes si ils s'en sortent et le réjouissant pied de nez final dans une église baroque).

Comme pris d'une psychose collective, les riches convives d'une soirée chic réalisent qu'il leur est impossible de franchir l'espace du grand salon où ils se trouvent. Ils passeront des jours (des semaines) en vase clos, perdant peu à peu la raison, la santé et leur belle tenue. Plus fort encore : à l'extérieur, la population inquiétée par leur absence ne peut elle non plus franchir le seuil de la villa. Seuls deux convives semblent avoir gardé leur raison et c'est la belle Silvia Pinal (inoubliable Viridiana et qui jouera ensuite dans Simon du désert ) qui trouve la solution.

Š-DR-L'ANGE EXTERMINATEUR p7

27/02/2014 06:47 par tellurikwaves