That Obscure Object of Desire
Adapted from Pierre Louÿs’ 1898 novel ‘Le Femme et le Pantin’, That Obscure Object of Desire marked Bunuel’s final film. Recounted in flashback to a group of railway travellers, the story wryly details the romantic perils of Mathieu (Bunuel favourite Fernando Rey), a wealthy middle-aged French sophisticate who falls desperately in love with his 19-year-old former chambermaid Conchita (Carole Bouquet).
Thus begins a surreal game of sexual cat-and-mouse, with Mathieu obsessively attempting to win the girl’s affections as she manipulates his carnal desires, each vying to gain absolute control of the other. Brimming with the subversive wit which characterises Bunuel’s finest work, That Obscure Object of Desire takes satiric aim at a decadent, decaying society riddled with political unrest and moral bankruptcy.
Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Arbitrary Desire: Interview with Jean-Claude Carriere
- Interview with Carlos Saura
- Double Dames: interview with Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina
- A portrait if Luis Bunuel: Interview with Edmond Richard and Pierre Lary
- Plus a booklet on the movie written by Peter William Evans, Author of Luis Bunuel; Subjectivity and Desire