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That Obscure Object of Desire
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Synopsis
Adapted from Pierre Louys' 1898 novel La Femme et le Pantin, That Obscure Object of Desire is the 30th and final film from the great Luis Buñuel. Recounted in flashback to a group of railway travellers, the story wryly details the romantic perils of Mathieu (Buñuel favorite Fernando Rey), a wealthy, middle-aged French sophisticate who falls desperately in love with his 19-year-old former chambermaid Conchita. Thus begins a surreal game of sexual cat-and-mouse, with Mathieu obsessively attempting to win the girl's affections as she manipulates his carnal desires, each vying to gain absolute control of the other. Brimming with the subversive wit which characterizes all of Buñuel's finest work, That Obscure Object of Desire takes satiric aim at a decadent, decaying society riddled by political unrest and moral bankruptcy. The picture is absurdist even in its casting -- Rey's dialogue was dubbed by the French actor Michel Piccoli, while the two-faced, hot-and-cold Conchita is played, logically enough, by two different actresses (Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina, respectively), with the character's dialogue spoken by yet a third performer. The same Louys novel was also filmed by Josef von Sternberg in 1935 as the Marlene Dietrich vehicle The Devil Is a Woman, and again in 1959 as Julien Duvivier's La Femme et le Pantin, starring Brigitte Bardot. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Cast

Julien Bertheau Judge
Carole Bouquet Conchita
Ángela Molina Conchita
Pieral Psychologist
Fernando Rey Mathieu
Milena Vukotic Traveller
André Weber Valet

Production Crew

Pierre Guffroy Art Director
Pierre Louys Book Author
Edmond Richard Cinematographer
Sylvie de Segonzac Costume Designer
Luis Buñuel Director
Hélène Plemiannikov Editor
Odette Berroyer Makeup
Serge Silberman Producer
Jean-Claude Carrière Screenwriter
Luis Buñuel Screenwriter
Guy Villette Sound/Sound Designer
Year: 1977
Runtime: 100
Country: France
MPAA Rating:
Category: Feature

Genre
Comedy

Color type
Eastmancolor

Produced by
Compagnie Commerciale Francais Cinematographie [DISTRIBUTION]
Films Galaxie
GEF
Greenwich Film Productions
In-Cine Compañía Industrial Cinematográfica

Awards
1977 - Best Film - National Society of Film Critics
1977 - Best Film - New York Film Critics Circle
1977 - Best Foreign Film - Golden Globe
1977 - Best Foreign Film - L.A. Film Critics Association
1977 - Best Foreign Film - National Board of Review
1977 - Best Foreign Language Film - Academy
1977 - Best Foreign Language Film - Academy
1977 - Best Foreign Film - Los Angeles Film Critics Association
1977 - Best Foreign Language Film - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie
1977 - Best Foreign Film - Hollywood Foreign Press Association
1977 - Best Picture - National Society of Film Critics