Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

"The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" is the gateway film for people interested in Bunuel's surrealism. Made just three years after "Milky Way," and two years before the highly coveted "The Phantom of Liberty," "The Discreet Charm" could easily have been sandwiched and forgotten within the master director's huge and delightful filmography... of course it didn't, and still stands as the most commonly found Bunuel film on the market. Maybe "The Discreet Charm" is more popular among the masses because it contains relatively tame surrealism as compared to the other Bunuel masterpieces; or perhaps, the reason lies in the fact that this movie is one of the funniest satires out there. Onto the film...

Plot is of little importance to works of surrealism, as much of it is supposed to be contrived by the viewer him/herself. However, for our purposes, "The Discreet Charm" is a satire of the bourgeoisie revolving around a group of dinner party friends who, due to constant distractions, never seem to be able to actually eat their food. The camera follows them from dinner party to dinner party, and these "distractions" never fail to occur. Of course, the plot goes deeper than that, especially in the area of character development. This is an oddity to Bunuel's comedic satires, as characters within them rarely have a personality entirely their own - that is, they are often generalizations of their respective stereotypes, backgrounds, and institutions (EXAMPLE: if the character is a priest, then he is made up as a satire of the entire Church itself, with no "real" individual personality). "The Discreet Charm" characters are similarly satirical generalizations, but they also contain distinct personalities and backgrounds of their own, despite whatever their current careers may be. Still, the main characters of this film are the subjects of our ridicule, and we never become emotionally-attached to them... in fact, we despise those snotty rich punks!

The flavor of "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" is unique from (and more universally appealing than) his earlier works of art. This film's "aura" seems rather comparable to (dare I say) a Mel Brooks' parody, in that its content is absurd in a hilarious sort of way, while still remaining true to the laws of surrealism (or absence of them). The light-comedy elements of "The Discreet Charm" ring through more so than the equally funny dark-comedy elements do, contributing to loads of belly laughs along with those awkward giggles. The balanced combination of dark and light comedy elements are what makes the satirical skeleton of "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" so unbreakable. Definitely the funniest (measured in laughs, not insanity) of Bunuel's films.

The surrealist world of Luis Bunuel is not something that appeals to everybody. That is, his films are an "active" viewing experience, not a "passive" one. The fun of Bunuel comes directly from each individual viewer using his/her mind to infer the meaning of what is going on, not simply absorbing what is being shown on the screen. In a previous review, I've used the analogy that watching a Bunuel picture is similar to playing the pen and paper game, Mad Libs - it's YOUR job to make sense of the imagery, and the entertainment value comes directly from attaching your inferences to the film's symbols and seeing if it all makes sense.

While "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" is a relatively tame Bunuel film, it tends to serve as a vacuum cleaner through which viewers who are new to his works get sucked in. I encourage anyone who wants to be intellectually challenged while entertained to partake in Bunuel's surreal universe; and no better way to acquaint yourself with his genius than through this delightful movie.

Bunuel's films are puzzles, and much like those strangely therapeutic Rubik's Cubes, chances are that you'll never fully solve them.

I hope you find Bunuel as enjoyable as I do.



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older