Cet obscur objet du désir
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''That Obscure Object of Desire'' (french: Cet obscur objet du désir; es, Ese oscuro objeto del deseo) is a 1977 comedy-drama film directed by
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
, based on the 1898 novel '' The Woman and the Puppet'' by
Pierre Louÿs Pierre Louÿs (; 10 December 1870 – 4 June 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection". ...
. It was Buñuel's final directorial effort before his death in July 1983. Set in Spain and France against the backdrop of a terrorist insurgency, the film conveys the story told through a series of flashbacks by an aging Frenchman, Mathieu (played by Fernando Rey), who recounts falling in love with a beautiful young Spanish woman, Conchita (played interchangeably by two actresses, Carole Bouquet and
Ángela Molina Ángela Molina Tejedor (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish actress. Aside from her performances in Spanish films, she has starred in multiple international productions, particularly in a number of Italian films and television series. Family Mol ...
), who repeatedly frustrates his romantic and sexual desires. In recent years, the film has been highly acclaimed by critics.


Plot

A dysfunctional and sometimes violent romance happens between Mathieu ( Fernando Rey), a middle-aged, wealthy Frenchman, and a young, impoverished, and beautiful
flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
dancer from
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, Conchita, played by Carole Bouquet and
Ángela Molina Ángela Molina Tejedor (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish actress. Aside from her performances in Spanish films, she has starred in multiple international productions, particularly in a number of Italian films and television series. Family Mol ...
. The two actresses each appear unpredictably in separate scenes, and differ not only physically, but temperamentally as well. Most of the film is a flashback recalled by Mathieu. The movie opens with Mathieu travelling by train from Seville to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. He is trying to distance himself from his young girlfriend Conchita. As Mathieu's train is ready to depart, he finds that a bruised and bandaged Conchita is pursuing him. From the train he pours a bucket of water over her head. He believes this will deter her, but she sneaks aboard. Mathieu's fellow compartment passengers witness his rude act. These include a mother and her young daughter, a judge who is coincidentally a friend of Mathieu's cousin, and a psychologist who is a
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. They inquire about his motivation for such an act, and he then explains the history of his tumultuous relationship with Conchita. The story is set against a backdrop of terrorist bombings and shootings by left-wing groups. Conchita, who claims to be 18 but looks older, has vowed to remain a virgin until marriage. She tantalizes Mathieu with sexual promises, but never allows him to satisfy his sexual desire. At one point she goes to bed with him wearing a tightly laced canvas corset, which he cannot untie, making it impossible to have sexual intercourse. Conchita's antics cause the couple to break up and reunite repeatedly, each time frustrating and confusing Mathieu. Eventually, Mathieu finds Conchita dancing nude for tourists in a Seville nightclub. At first, he becomes enraged. Later, however, he forgives her and buys her a house. In a climactic scene, soon after moving into the house, Conchita refuses to let Mathieu in at the gate, tells him that she hates him, and that kissing and touching him make her sick. Then, to prove her independence, she appears to initiate sexual intercourse with a young man in plain view of Mathieu, although he walks away without witnessing the act. Later that night he is held up at gunpoint as his car is hijacked. After this, Conchita attempts to reconcile with Mathieu, insisting that the sex was fake and that her "lover" is in reality a homosexual friend. However, during her explanation, Mathieu beats her (she then says "Now I'm sure you love me"), causing her bandaged and bruised state seen earlier in the film. Just as the fellow train passengers seem satisfied with this story, Conchita reappears from hiding and dumps a bucket of water on Mathieu. However, the couple apparently reconcile yet again when the train reaches its destination. After leaving the train, they walk arm in arm, enjoying the streets of Madrid. Later in a mall in Paris, loudspeakers announce that a strange alliance of extremist groups intends to sow chaos and confusion in society through terrorist attacks. The announcement adds that several right-wing groups plan to counter-attack. As the couple continues their walk, they pass a seamstress in a shop window mending a bloody nightgown. They begin arguing just as a bomb explodes, apparently killing them.


Casting

''That Obscure Object of Desire'' is most notable for its use of two actresses, Carole Bouquet and
Ángela Molina Ángela Molina Tejedor (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish actress. Aside from her performances in Spanish films, she has starred in multiple international productions, particularly in a number of Italian films and television series. Family Mol ...
, in the single role of Conchita; the actresses switch roles in alternate scenes and sometimes even in the middle of scenes. In his autobiography, ''My Last Sigh'' (1983), Buñuel explains (pp. 46–47) the decision to use two actresses to play Conchita: The book does not identify the actress who had caused the "tempestuous argument," though Buñuel makes it clear (p. 250) that she was neither Carole Bouquet nor Angela Molina. In ''Luis Buñuel: The Complete Films'' (2005), editors Bill Krohn and Paul Duncan identify the actress as
Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...
, writing (pp. 177–78) the following in regard to the idea of using two actresses to play Conchita: Specifically regarding Buñuel's employment of two actresses to play a single character, most critics were charmed, as exemplified by ''
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'' film critic
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
's review: Other films that employ two or more actors to perform a single character include
Todd Solondz Todd Solondz (; born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle class America ...
's ''
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'', wherein eight different actors of different ages, races, and genders play a 13-year-old girl named Aviva during the course of the film;
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...
's ''
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' is a 2009 fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Charles McKeown. The film follows a travelling theatre troupe whose leader, having made a bet with the Devil, takes audience me ...
'', where similarly a production issue—in this case the death of
Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...
during production—led to Johnny Depp,
Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A leading man in projects across various genres in both blockbuster and independent films since the 2000s, he has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award. ''The ...
and Jude Law stepping in to play his character's "imaginary world" scenes; and Canadian filmmaker B. P. Paquette's '' Perspective'', wherein each of the three lead actors continually rotate the three characters they play, not only within the same scene, but sometimes during the same dialogue exchange. Spanish actor Fernando Rey frequently worked with Buñuel in his later years. He plays Mathieu, but his voice is dubbed by the French actor
Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...
.
Ángela Molina Ángela Molina Tejedor (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish actress. Aside from her performances in Spanish films, she has starred in multiple international productions, particularly in a number of Italian films and television series. Family Mol ...
revealed
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
needed to see her completely naked during the audition: "There were nude scenes, and I imagine he needed convincing that I was what he required for his film, or whatever. He had to see the way I looked. I was wearing the same dressing gown that appeared in the film. He put his glasses on. It was a long changing room, and he was at one end of it, and then he said, with an absolutely loving and affectionately paternal smile... let's see, I don't remember what exact word he used, but I knew I had to expose myself. So, I opened my dressing gown for a moment like a little girl, because that's what I was. I was very innocent at that time. And then he put his glasses on immediately and said: 'Cover yourself! Cover yourself!' All this as though they were uncovering Tutankhamun's mummy," Molina laughing recalled.


Reception

The film was not financially successful, but it became a critical favorite, garnering Best Foreign Language Film nominations at both the Golden Globe Awards and the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
(where it was also nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) but failing to win at either. The critics associations were slightly more generous, with the
National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association both giving it the Best Foreign Language Film awards in 1977. Luis Buñuel won Best Director at the
National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
and
National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2014, ...
awards. He was also nominated at the French César Awards. Many later critics have declared the film a masterpiece. The film holds a 97% approval rating on
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, with an average rating of 8.8/10 among 33 critics. The site's consensus reads: "''That Obscure Object of Desire'' is a frequently unsettling treatise on the quixotic nature of lust and love". In the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
's 2012 ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' poll, three critics and two directors ranked it one of the ten greatest films ever made.


See also

*
List of submissions to the 50th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of submissions to the 50th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was created in 1956 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honour non-English-speaking films ...
*
List of Spanish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Spain has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since the conception of the award. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion p ...


Sources

*''That Obscure Object of Desire'', DVD, Criterion Collection; Jean-Claude Carrière Interview (2000)


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* * *
''That Obscure Object of Desire''
an essay by William Rothman at the Criterion Collection
Review by Roger Ebert
{{DEFAULTSORT:That Obscure Object Of Desire 1977 films 1977 comedy-drama films 1970s avant-garde and experimental films 1970s black comedy films 1977 multilingual films 1970s satirical films 1970s sex comedy films Films about interclass romance Films about sexual repression Films based on French novels Films directed by Luis Buñuel Films produced by Serge Silberman Films set in Madrid Films set in Paris Films set in Seville Films shot in Madrid Films shot in Paris Films with screenplays by Jean-Claude Carrière Films shot in Switzerland French avant-garde and experimental films French comedy-drama films 1970s French-language films French multilingual films French satirical films French sex comedy films Spanish avant-garde and experimental films Spanish comedy-drama films 1970s Spanish-language films Spanish multilingual films Spanish satirical films Films based on works by Pierre Louÿs 1970s French films 1970s Spanish films