Luis Buñuel's Obscure Object of Desire

I’ve been scouring the forums looking for a thread on this movie, but I can't find one anywhere—which is a crime, honestly! 🙏 As the film was playing, I kept thinking this was easily the most straightforward thing Luis Buñuel has ever directed, but man, once those credits rolled...
There is something so incredibly satisfying about a movie that keeps you guessing until the very last second. You spend the whole time wondering: who can you actually trust? Him or her? And then the end hits, and you're still sitting there totally stumped. Maybe I'm just wired differently, but I live for endings like that.
The fact that she's played by two different actresses is such a trip. Was one meant to be more passionate than the other? Or did he cast two people just to drive home the point that Mathieu doesn't truly know her at all? 🤔 And don't even get me started on that bag she carries everywhere. Is it a metaphor for his sexual history? Even the terrorism subplot feels almost like background noise, like Mathieu is so wrapped up in his obsession with Conchit that the rest of the world could be falling apart and he wouldn't notice.
Anyway... long story short... it's a fantastic film. I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't need every single plot point spoon-fed to them on a silver platter! 👍 👋

Do you happen to have this film on any physical media? Hmm... ::žicžic:🙂

Luis Buñuel is a god

absolutely phenomenal film 🙏

Richard Lee33 said:So, do you happen to have a copy on any kind of media? Just wondering... hehe ::žicžic:🙂

Yeah, I’ve got it on a digital file 😉 Shoot me a DM and we'll figure something out!

I watched it a while back, but much like Bella de jour, it didn't really land for me. It feels somewhat dated in its attempt to satirize the bourgeoisie, relying on sexual themes that were already losing their shock value by then. The ambiguity would have been far more intriguing if it weren't such an obvious trick—almost like Hitchcock's red herrings. What's in the box?
Who cares?
Actually, it’s quite interesting to compare the two directors, given they both share those generational frustrations and obsessions, all seasoned with a heavy dose of Freudianism. Plus, Vertigo was made about twenty years earlier, back when plot coherence was still the standard at the major Hollywood studios—which honestly makes for even more fascinating implications.

Luis Buñuel isn't quite about Freudianism; it's more on the Lacanian side. I suppose Lacan does build upon Freud, but that wasn't really my point. What I meant was that I simply love the film, and the subject matter made me realize it should probably be tucked away somewhere in my VHS collection

Luis Buñuel actually made quite a few "accessible" films... take his whole Mexican era, for instance... they aren't overly cryptic. He’s even got some lighter stuff like "The Exterminating Angel" or "Robinson Crusoe"... I personally love most of his work... though I don't find much to sink my teeth into in movies like "The Milky Way" or "The Phantom of Liberty" (I won't bother with the official titles here)... honestly, you either have to be a hardcore atheist or a super-devout, traditionalist American Catholic to really get hooked by those—if you're just indifferent, there isn't much there for you. Whereas "Viridiana," on its own, is just an excellent film regardless of all those obvious religious allegories.

I find *The Diary of a Chambermaid* to be quite good.

My absolute favorite Buñuelian flick has gotta be Ghost Freedom. It’s totally trippy, honestly gives me Monty Python vibes... definitely recommend giving it a watch if you haven't yet, though, good luck finding it at your local Blockbuster or anything...