I believe that the line went something like:

[lathany]

"When we go to Lourdes will you buy me a washable rubber virgin?"

Which comes from The Exterminating Angel and is the weirdest line I've heard in a film that I can remember.

The film itself is 1962, Mexican (with subtitles), black and white and very weird (the setting is an upper-class dinner party). We watched it last night I don't know if I'd recommend it. I've found a review which states: "With The Exterminating Angel, the viewers are lucky enough to receive a statement by the director at the beginning of the movie. Therefore using that statement as a guide to make sense of the movie would be a very wise choice. The statement reads as follows 'The best explanation of this film is that, from the standpoint of pure reason, there is no explanation.'" I don't remember this statement from our version, but it does kinda sum up the film. Anyway, weird, a classic and regarded as one of the best Mexican films of all time.

Comments

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Bunuel is a genius but some of the films are pretty unapproachable (from a sense-making point of view). The most straightforward to watch and enjoy as (relatively) conventional films are probably the later ones, Viridana, Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, That Obscure Object of Desire and Phantom of Liberty.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Which of the more straightforward ones would you most recommend?

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Tristana (which is what I meant to say above, not Viridiana -- which is an earlier Mexican-period film) is quite a straightforward story, with surrealistic overtones but basically a conventional film about a young woman and her elderly guardian's intentions for her.

That Obscure Object... is very funny, but made slightly confusing by the lead female role being played by two different actors, for no very apparent reason. If you can get to grips with that, then it's enjoyable. It's told mostly in flashbacks but is a simple story of falling in and out of love.

Discreet Charm... is also funny but rather silly. A group of friends are trying to have dinner together, but they keep getting interrupted by more and more bizarre occurrences. This is quite Monty-Python-esque I guess.

Any of those would do to start, whichever sounds more appealing! Although I think once you've seen a few, and have more of a feeling for his world-view, then they all start to make a lot more sense. (I was lucky in that when he died, BBC2 showed all the major films one per night over a fortnight or so, and I was the right sort of age to be able to stay up and get thoroughly immersed.)

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I might try Discrete Charm.