Year: 1962
Director: Luis Bunuel
Country: Mexico
Language: Spanish
Luis Bunuel was one of the most strange and entertaining film-makers to watch. The Exterminating Angel (1962) is a great example of his absurd surrealist style that often challenges social norms & redefines what a satire can be. Made during the end of his eighteen year career in Mexico (he would also have a long career in France) the film was made with complete artistic freedom. Of his 22 Mexan productions, though I admit I have not seen all of them, this one is my favourite.
In this, guests at an upper-class dinner party find themselves unable to leave.
Structured around a devestating social party, Bunuel transforms the civilized ritual of dinner, which has a countless number of rules depending on class, into a means of exposing pure human savagery. Slowly, as the film goes on, all humanity is stripped from our guests and we see the former bourgeoisie as animals.
Religion is mocked by showing how fear and desperation spawn a belief in false myths and fetishes; it's quite interesting how the film starts in a living room and ends in a church. The injustices of our social order, which is defined by class and religion, are exposed for all to see. One wonders why Bunuel's earlier Virdinia (1961) was banned, but not this.
I found myself entranced by Exterminating Angel; there is much to dissect and analyze in each frame. The cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa is top notch. I love how he uses the spaces given to trap the actors & give a sharp divide between insiders and outsiders. The camera emphasizess the invisible barrier & creates a chaotic atmosphere of uncertainty. With any other director/cinematographer this crazed film would not work as well. Only Bunuel could pull this off.
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