Ep #37 - Luis Buñuel in the 60s

After years of fighting against political turmoil, personal strife and artistic complacency, Luis Buñuel finally found a decade that embraced him for everything he was and could be. The famous Surrealist who was ejected from the European filmmaking community in the early ‘30s for blasphemy and a sensibility too outrageous for mass consumption, made his circuitous way back to the Continent in the ‘60s after self-imposed exile making low budget Mexican melodramas. Primed by youthful rebellion and the French New Wave, he finally found an audience for his particular brand of button-pushing non-conformity, and settled into his late career streak of unparalleled masterpieces.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna investigate the bizarre and Catholic guilt-ridden world of atheist filmmaker Luis Buñuel. To their own surprise, it turns out they don’t really see eye-to-eye on any of his films. Where this renowned auteur had a huge impact on turning young Bart into the cinephile he is today, Surrealist worshipping Jenna admirably justifies her respectful lack of enthusiasm for some of the Spanish director’s most beloved works.

The following films are discussed:

• The Young One (1960)
La joven
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Zachary Scott, Bernie Hamilton, Key Meersman

• Viridiana (1961)
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Silvia Pinal, Francisco Rabal, Fernando Rey

• The Exterminating Angel (1962)
El ángel exterminador
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Silvia Pinal, Jacqueline Andere, Claudio Brook

• Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)
Le journal d'une femme de chambre
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Jeanne Moreau, Georges Géret, Michel Piccoli

• Simon of the Desert (1965)
Simón del desierto
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal, Enrique Álvarez Félix

• Belle de Jour (1967)
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli

• The Milky Way (1969)
La voie lactée
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Paul Frankeur, Laurent Terzieff, Michel Piccoli