Bunuel - The Essential Collection

This box set by Spanish director and surrealist Luis Bunuel celebrates his work with seven of his most acclaimed films including classic Bunuel movies such as THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOSIE and DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID, starring the late Jeanne Moreau in the title role.

Connoisseurs of Bunuel will select their own favourites among the selection, with films spanning over ten years from 1964 to 1977.
The first film, shot in b/w, is the aforementioned DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID (1964) and is an adaptation of Octave Mirbeau’s novel. Jeanne Moreau plays Céléstine, an attractive and sassy Parisian chambermaid who takes up work at an estate in rural France during the 1930’s. Initially this ‘girl’ from the city is as much at odds with the somewhat backward and traditional surroundings as her employers are at odds with her. Things soon change when Céléstine realises that her employers are a bunch of oddballs: Madame Monteil (Francoise Lugagne) is frigid which causes Monsieur (Michel Piccoli) to chase after every skirt he can spot, including Céléstine. As if this weren’t enough, the patriarch of the house Monsieur Rabour (Jean Ozenne) who is also Monteil’s father-in-law displays a fetish for kinky boots and has chosen our chambermaid to model them. The madhouse gets worse with Monteil being at loggerheads with his neighbour Captain Mauger (Daniel Invernel) and Céléstine getting pestered by the vile servant Joseph (Georges Géret) – a nationalistic, anti-Semitic and very violent man capable or murder or so it would seem…
Moreau is simply captivating in this drama with political and darkly humorous undertones.
As far as Bunuel goes this film is pretty much a straightforward affair, which can’t be said about THE MILKY WAY (1969) – the first in the director’s ‘search for truth’ trilogy films. The plot is relatively simple and concerns two vagabonds called Pierre (Paul Frankeur) and Jean (Laurent Terzieff) on their personal pilgrimage though not exactly for religious reasons. Along their journey the two encounter various strange characters and get entangled in surreal and bizarre situations. The film is heavily dominated by religious themes and Jesus and Mary and certain scenes seem to take place in the past. Beautifully shot but too confusing and too ‘arty’ for its own good.

TRISTANA (1970) stars Catherine Deneuve in the title role as a young orphan who finds herself adopted by Spanish nobleman Don Lope Garrido (Bunuel regular Fernando Rey). Years pass and Don Lope begins to fall in love with Tristana, now in her full blossom and beautiful. Consequently he no longer treats her like the adopted daughter but as a love interest. Despite the enormous age difference he manages to convince Tristana that marriage is in her best interest and takes her as his wife. Barely twenty years old, Tristana finally wakes up to the fact that there is a life to live and demands to study music and art instead of playing the obedient little housewife. Despite Don Lope’s protests she refuses to give up her newly found independence and one day meets the good-looking young artist Horacio Diaz (Franco Nero) with whom she falls in love. When he learns that she is married he initially asks her to leave but then changes his mind and the two make plans to move together and start a new life some place else. But fate intervenes and Tristana falls seriously ill. Unable to cough up money for the medical treatment he realises that Tristana needs to return to her wealthy husband, however, Don Lope holds his trump card only for a little while… Deneuve and Rey are utterly convincing here, the acting is simply perfect and although the story is relatively simple with very few location shots, TRISTANA is captivating beginning to end.
Fernando Rey returns Rafael Acosta, ambassador of the fictional Republic of Miranda in THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972). The film centres around six bourgeois and middle-class couples living in a non-logical world and their attempts to enjoy a meal together. These attempts are constantly interrupted by bizarre scenarios which make no sense but are accepted by the protagonists (including Stéphane Audran, Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Cassel and Bulle Ogier). Also aboard is Michel Piccoli in the role of the Minister. Although the various scenes (gathering at the beginning and dreams during the latter part) seems to make little sense they are linked. Doubtlessly one of Bunuel’s masterpieces and in 1972 he was rewarded with an ‘Oscar’ for Best Foreign Film.

Unfortunately, PHANTOM OF LIBERTY (1974) is way too far fetched to be called a surreal masterpiece, far from it… if anything it deserves the title ‘Stinker of the box set’. One must wonder whether Bunuel had a laugh with this one (at our expense) or whether he seriously believed viewers would get the challenge he threw at them by questioning pre-conceived notions. Enter dinner guests seated on toilet bowls, poker-playing and cigarette-smoking monks, a killer who is sentenced to death but released seconds later, police officers looking for a missing girl which is in the same room as they are, and on and on. Amusing for about ten minutes though perhaps yours truly just failed to see the point of this seemingly pointless surreal comedy.
Bunuel redeems himself with the brilliantly dark drama-comedy THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE (1977), once again starring the fabulous Fernando Rey. This time he is Mathieu, a wealthy widower who becomes obsessed by the elusive maid Conchita who is portrayed by two actresses (!): French actress Carole Bouquet brings out the sophisticated yet reserved side of Conchita and Angela Molina the fiery and flirtatious side. The more obsessed Mathieu becomes the more Conchita seems to dominate and humiliate him, it’s fair to say theirs is an emotionally sado-masochistic union. Conchita takes pleasure in psychologically torturing Mathieu and he allows himself to be tortured. If this sounds rather heavy then you will be pleased to read that the film contains plenty of deadpan humour too. Absolute genius!

All seven films come newly restored and with plenty of interesting Extras!