Thursday, July 14, 2011

El ángel exterminador (The Exterminating Angel) (1962)

Director:   Luis Bunuel
Writer:      Luis Bunuel
Language: Spanish
The Exterminating Angel is a surreal film from the Legendary director Luis Bunuel in which the guests at a dinner party find themselves unable to leave. There is no explanation given for their predicament but the obvious one is that all of them develop a mental barrier which prevents them from leaving. Everyone might be waiting for one of them to leave so that they could follow. We are shown their behavior in the confined space in a dark comedic way with Bunuel's criticism of Bourgeoisie rich coming to the fore again. It was a nice contrast for me compared to the previous film I watched, 'Time of the Wolf'.

In the end of the film a scene in church is shown where the priests and followers face the same predicament as the party guests. This might suggest that Bunuel is showing that the followers of church are also not renouncing their beliefs just like the guests couldn't leave, waiting for someone else to start the procession. Exterminating Angel was done by Luis Bunuel after he returned to Mexico following the controversies generated by 'Viridiana'. Viridiana, Exterminating Angel and Simon of the desert are often described as a Trilogy in which the common theme is criticism of religion and church.

Rating: 4/5

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