That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)

Original title

Cet obscur objet du désir

Directed by

Luis Buñuel

Genre

drama film, comedy film

Country

France, Spain

Runtime

1h 43m

Rated

R

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 447 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

An aging Frenchman tells the story of his obsession with a young Spanish woman. She keeps him at a distance and constantly plays with his desires.

absurdsatiricalmelancholicplayfulunpredictablefrustratingslycoolwry

What happens

That Obscure Object of Desire (French: Cet obscur objet du désir, Spanish: Ese oscuro objeto del deseo) is a 1977 absurdist satirical comedy-drama film directed by Luis Buñuel, based on the 1898 novel The Woman and the Puppet by Pierre Louÿs. It was Buñuel's final directorial effort before his death in July 1983. Set in Spain and France against the backdrop of a terrorist insurgency, the film conveys the story told through a series of flashbacks by an aging Frenchman, Mathieu (played by Spanish actor Fernando Rey), who recounts falling in love with a beautiful young Spanish woman, Conchita (played interchangeably by two actresses, the French actress, Carole Bouquet and the Spanish actress, Ángela Molina), who repeatedly frustrates his romantic and sexual desires. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 50th Academy Awards representing for Spain. In recent years, the film has been highly acclaimed by critics and is considered one of Buñuel's greatest movies and a fine swan song for his extensive career. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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