Review of That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) by Jules E — 21 Mar 2011

Being his final film and let's say masterpiece, Cet Obscur Objet De Desir is definitely one of Bunuel's most conventional films with few shots at surrealism. However this doesn't remove the pleasure from watching this festival. Yes it is a festival, a circus, just like any other Bunuel film. And it stands the test of time, because it's theme and message are eternal and we still live them and will always go through them from now until umm let's say the world ends because of global warming.

The screenplay adapted from the novel La Femme et le Pantin deals at first reading with the eternal battle of the sexes and, as the title very well indicates, its deals with that obscure object of desire that every single one of us has and is haunted by. We see the rich Mathieu tormented and haunted by his sexual lust towards the mood shifting poor Conchita. It's really beautiful that the screenplay shows how low and far a person can go so that he can fulfill and eventually get rid of that desire he has inside so it will stop tormenting him.

The film holds a lot of character study when it comes to both lead characters. I mentioned the first who is the easiest to read. But the most interesting character is Conchita who is by far harder to read and analyze. And here comes the brilliant choice made by Bunuel to give that role to two actresses. Through out the film we see Conchita bouncing from side to side manipulating Mathieu's feelings thus the justification of why she is played by two actresses. Each one represents a side of her personality. However, through out the film Mathieu is blinded from the physical difference of the two actresses which shows how blinded he is by his desire. Interesting... Very interesting.

But I couldn't help but also read the film in a second way also which can go in a parallel way with the first one. Other than being a battle of the sexes, I saw this as a battle of social ranges. We have the bourgeois Mathieu against the poor Conchita. And we see through the film how Mathieu tries to buy Conchita's love with his seemingly never ending fortune while Conchita takes advantage of that teasing him so she can suck more of him without giving him anything. And this is really the dilemma between these two classes. There's never a compromise between the rich and the poor. The rich think they can buy the poor, and the poor think they can manipulate the rich to suck more of them and they never find a compromise. Nor there will ever be a compromise. And the end of this battle is eliminating both parts. And you will see what I mean at the end of the film.

The choice of characters in the train where the story is told was very brilliant. Going from a judge, to a psychologist to another seemingly bourgeois lady, the gathering seemed like a court as usual sympathizing with the rich who can pay more and giving him undeserved rights. Bunuel in his adaptation did a fine work of depths and I appreciate it a lot.