2/3: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

For the 11th Day in my 34 Days of Oscar, I saw the Luis Brunel film "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie." This film won the 1973 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is different from the other Academy Awards. It is not awarded to a specific individual, although the winning director usually accepts the award. It is actually awarded to the submitting country as a whole. Italy currently leads all countries with 13 wins in 27 nominations in this category. It wasn't until the 29th Academy Awards in 1956 that this award was created. A film can be disqualified if the submitting country has had little artistic control over the film or if it had aired on television prior to the theatrical release. Since 2006 the film no longer has to be in the official language of the submitting country, but non English speaking American films (like "Letters from Iwo Jima") are still disqualified.

"The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" is, quite simply, the story

of 6 friends who are continuously trying to have a meal together.

Their problem is that each meal keeps getting interrupted in increasingly surreal ways. It is also difficult to tell what is and what isn't reality as dreams are a constant theme throughout this film. In one case, a character wakes up from a dream in which he

dreamed another character had a dream. The film also cuts

occasionally to a shot of all 6 friends walking down a country road. It doesn't seem like they are walking anywhere specific, but they seem to be enjoying themselves anyways. That is kind of how I saw this film too, it goes nowhere but it's enjoyable nonetheless. If someone goes into this film looking for a coherent storyline and an recognizable plot, they will be sorely disappointed and probably bored too. "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" is actually quite pointless throughout, but I was still entertained for the duration of the movie and wouldn't have minded had it gone on a bit longer.

Overall I give "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" 3 our of 5 stars. I understood what I was getting into with this film before watching it and was entertained by it. The surrealist situations were amusing and the camerawork and set design were able to fully keep my attention throughout. If you want a taste of how different this film is, just check out the trailer, as that actually sums the movie up quite well.