143 - That Obscure Object of Desire

[captainofbeef]

- New high-definition transfer, enhanced for 16x9 televisions
- Video interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere
- Excerpts from Jacques de Baroncelli’s 1929 silent film, La Femme et le Pantin, an alternative film adaptation of the book on which Buñuel based his film
- Reprinted interview with director Luis Buñuel
- Theatrical trailer
- Optional English-dubbed track
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

[criterionmaster]

That Obscure Object of Desire (Cet obscur objet du désir)
Review by: Dan Kinem



The film had been sitting at my house for a while but I never watched it. I loved Buñuel’s other films that I had seen (Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Un chien andalou, and The Exterminating Angel). I finally picked it up and watched it and thank God I did.

The film starts by showing a room that has been destroyed. It looks like a fight may have gone down. Two men look through the room and one man says that he is leaving for Paris. He gets on a train. People start sitting next to him and in one way or another they no someone in that same car. A mysterious woman tries to get on the train but he, for some reason dumps a bucket of water on her. The people sitting around him (a man, a woman and her child, and a midget) begin to ask question about this, so he tells them of the woman he desired and the story of what happened between them.

Buñuel’s brilliant “choice” to have the lead (Conchita) played by two different actresses, each plays a different personality. The crazy thing is neither looks anything alike yet it takes nothing away from the film and doesn’t take you out of any scene. I didn’t even realize until way late in the film that this was being done. Buñuel again uses actor, Fernando Rey who is great in the lead role.

Terrorism was a huge part in the film but was always in the background. It was present without always being shown to you. It is always adding onto the leads problems. The end for me was very bizarre. It was not what I was expecting. Very abrupt.

I cannot get over this film, it is just beautiful, bizarre, and it changed how I think of movies. This is like no other film. It is a shame this was Buñuel’s last film though. Bold as this statement may be, you have not experienced film until you have experienced Buñuel.



10/10

IMDB LINK

[criterionmaster]

Yes, that one my be my favorite!!!

[lordofdance]

It took me a while to warm up to this movie, but I realized that I liked it once it ended. I think I was expecting it to be more overtly perverse and strange, but it's just more low-key about it. I didn't mind the somewhat gimmicky using different actresses for the same role like I did when I saw the same approach used in Palindromes. I'm alightly fascinated by That Obscure Object of Desire, so I need to re-watch it. The terrorist parts weren't necessary, though, in my opinion.