I have revisited Luis Buñuel’s final cinematic work, That Obscure Object of Desire, in all of its puzzling and captivating glory, with a plan towards it being the centerpiece of discussion at an upcoming 
“dinner and a movie” night among friends – two of whom have recently designed a beautiful poster inspired by the film’s central paradox: the character of Conchita, played by two women, Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina. Buñuel is an ideal candidate for a lively dinner discussion, not just because his absurdism and rapier wit is well suited to spark debate. I also think that Buñuel would heartily approve of a group of people sipping wine (or martinis) waxing philosophical about art, even if (or perhaps, especially if) the discussion ultimately amounts to a bunch of rubbish.
What are we to take from this retrospective tale told by Fernando Rey’s Mathieu, as he shamelessly and foolishly pursues the affections of the young and literally changeable Conchita? It is misogynistic, feminist, or merely nonsense? Is Mathieu a puppet (as the source novel suggests), and if so why? Because he’s rich, because he’s a man, or merely because of his unique shortcomings? Who knows. But I suspect that Buñuel mostly intended the film as a provocation (a figurative terrorist bomb or dousing of cold water, as it were). So with glass in hand and
Here are this morning’s Oscar-nominated films, alphabetically. The nominees for foreign language film and documentary feature are compiled at the end of the list. (Short format nominees are listed in a 
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet... Leave one in the space below.
Leave a Comment