The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

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The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

PG

1972

1h 40m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

98%

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60 Reviews

88%

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10,000+ Ratings

The ambassador of the Latin American republic of Miranda (Fernando Rey), M. Thevenot (Paul Frankeur), his wife Simone (Delphine Seyrig) and her sister Florence (Bulle Ogier) arrive for a dinner party at the house of Alice Sénéchal (Stéphane Audran) and her husband Henri (Jean-Pierre Cassel), only to learn that they were mistaken about the date. In director Luis Buñuel's surreal fantasy, the six bourgeois friends repeatedly gather for a dinner that never quite arrives.

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Critics Consensus

An intoxicating dose of the director's signature surrealist style, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie represents Buñuel at his most accessible.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

The charm of the film is that the old magician can show off his skills and make fun of them at the same time... There is nothing else in the movie -- just the surprises, and the pleasures of [Buñuel] dexterity as he springs them.

Sep 28, 2023

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

... Simultaneously darkly satirical, bleak, witty and lightly amusing.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 9, 2022

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David Denby

The Atlantic

Bunuel’s art is as insolent as ever. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a deeply funny movie, as a viewing experience it’s like walking across a perilous, sway little bridge whose guide rails periodically snatched away.

Jun 21, 2022

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Surrealist satire attacking the upper classes for their sexual morals, attraction to social status, and detachment from reality...

Mar 2, 2023

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Discreet Charm is a deadpan farce forever flirting with anarchy.

Sep 12, 2022

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Neely Swanson

Easy Reader (California)

Absurdity is piled onto absurdity and reality and surreality blend until it is impossible to tell which is which.

Jul 27, 2022

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Stephen C

Funny in 1 2/3 hours!!!!!!!! In Canadian French and English versions with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/09/25

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Alain E

An anarchist movie against conventional morals, religion and conservative politics. In the end, every road leads to a dead end. The lone revolutionary is arrested by the police, never to be heard from again. The bishop is called to give the last rites to the murderer of his parents. The military is involved in some ridiculous war games. There is no way out.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

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Laura B

The film feels like a continuous discontinuity, where Buñuel manages to reconcile pure classicism (narrative, types of framing, psychological development of the characters) with the most modern cinematographic resources (repetitions, large ellipses, random montage). One of his most accomplished and perfect films.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

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Alejandro E

La aristocracia, retratada con toda la acidez, y surrealismo que hacen distintivo a Buñuel. No se requiere mucho esfuerzo mental para comprender la bizarra odisea que involucra una cena que nunca logra celebrarse. De las indispensables.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/21/24

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雅苏典

一个个小穿插有些跳跃，但整部片子还是有些别致的魅力和味趣

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/20/24

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Leaburn O

I haven't a clue what any of it means but it was an entertaining ride throughout. After trying to track this one down for a while, I got lucky and found it on YouTube but unsure how long it will be up there.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/24

Full Review

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Luis Buñuel

Director

Fernando Rey

Don Rafael

Delphine Seyrig

Mme Thevenot

Stéphane Audran

Alice Senechal (as Stephane Audran)

Jean-Pierre Cassel

M. Senechal

Paul Frankeur

M. Thevenot

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Synopsis

The ambassador of the Latin American republic of Miranda (Fernando Rey), M. Thevenot (Paul Frankeur), his wife Simone (Delphine Seyrig) and her sister Florence (Bulle Ogier) arrive for a dinner party at the house of Alice Sénéchal (Stéphane Audran) and her husband Henri (Jean-Pierre Cassel), only to learn that they were mistaken about the date. In director Luis Buñuel's surreal fantasy, the six bourgeois friends repeatedly gather for a dinner that never quite arrives.

Director: Luis Buñuel
Producer: Serge Silberman
Screenwriter: Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
Distributor: Criterion Collection, 20th Century Fox, Media Home Entertainment, Rialto Pictures, Applause Video
Production Co: Dean Film, Greenwich Film Productions, Jet Films S.A.
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 15, 1972, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $82.5K
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Mono

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