i just watched this film tonight and i was pleasantly surprised by it. see, i was scared it would be a bit stiff. i don't like these kinds of films that are set around aristocracy. i don't care much for them. but this one wasn't about class or status. Jeanne Moreau is not a victim even if her employers look down on her or lust after her. she's the subversive one in this film. there's nothing austere or oppressive about her status and Buñuel doesn't seem to care much about commenting on the upper class (except for the latent fetishism, and even then, Buñuel doesn't seem too interested to use that to nail the aristocracy too hard. it's just there). this one plays more like a Henri-George Clouzot thriller. the film is more straightforward than what Buñuel's other films would be (from what i read) so it's more conventional but it's still got some amazing performances (especially Jeanne Moreau), really cool, unobtrusive camera-work, and a good story. oh, and through all that dark and twisted sickness, the film is actually quite funny! ha. who knew, right? it's actually much, much lighter than what you would think a Buñuel film would be. and the lush black and white cinematography was breathtaking. whoa. what a transfer from Criterion. beautiful. i seriously recommended this film to anyone interested in older french thrillers. [ 8.5 ]
np: nellie mckay, get away from me
Posted by Anonymous | 10:17 PM
