I have heard of this film for years, but finally had the opportunity to see it recently. It is the work of a director of Spanish origin, Luis Buñuel, though he made this film in Mexico. He made dozens of films over the course of a long career. His most famous film may be "Belle du Jour", but this film seems to have prompted even greater praise in many of the internet ramblings with which I have interacted.
The "meaning" of this film and how all the pieces come together is unknown. The Buñuel himself has stated that the meaning of the film is unknown. This allows for the film to be an almost post modern work. True, there clearly is some meaning to the film, but so much of it is so subjective, that the greater point being made seems to be more twofold. First, the film seems to be making some statements about class and the nature of humanity. Second, the film also makes a statement about the nature of reality itself. Buñuel's work here reminds me of Salvador Dali, and in reading, it seems as though he actually influenced Dali. This is a fascinating work, and it is so for these two reasons, but for other reasons as well.
The basic premise of the movie is provocative. A group of upper class people come home to one of their homes for a post performance dinner. For reasons never explained, all of the servants leave the house before dinner. That would be interesting enough without what takes place after that. After dinner and a piano performance from one of the guests, none of the guests are able to leave the house. All of the guests know that it is odd for them not to leave, and what keeps them in the house is never explained. The simple fact remains...none of the people in the house can leave. As this situation carries on for hours and eventually days, the veneer of civilization is slowly peeled away. In this way, it reminds me of Lord of the Flies. Though here, the people in question are not young boys who are without supervision, but independent adults who become almost unable to function. The lone exception is the doctor who is among the guests. He is able to remain calm and aid all of his fellow guests through the experience. In spite of that, there is still plenty of chaos, and the evil of mankind is on full display as skeletons come out of nearly every closet.
Beyond the brilliant premise of the movie, the execution of the movie is amazing. This movie creates the same kind of a feeling that one gets when one sees a Salvador Dali painting. It also feels like a dream. I am astonished at how well this movie attains that. We all dream, so we all know the logic of dreams. Sometimes in our dreams we are able or unable to do certain things, and even though it doesn't make sense, it still seems to make sense in our minds as we dream. To be able to translate that tone over 90 minutes with actual images truly is remarkable. In fact, that element of the movie was more becoming to me than the actual story, as interesting as that was.
The movie's closing images are enigmatic. They are that way on purpose I think. This director seems more interested in provoking thought and discussion then on getting a "point" across. All the same, clearly Buñuel has his issues both with the wealthy class, and with the church. The closing images of the church are challenging, but I did not find them to be condemning the church. Instead, the very nature of reality is called in question, and that brings with it lots of thought provoking questions and ideas. I will need to watch this movie again. It is a trip.
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