That Obscure Object of Desire

Bunuel's final film. The best part about Luis Bunuel's later years is that he showed as much daring in his projects as any time period, but Bunuel still wasn't a clear cut success. That Obscure Object of Desire is both a success mixed with some weaknesses. His antagonism toward plot makes for one with little interest or depth. The story, like most Bunuel efforts, is driven by his penchants of desire and the idea of insanity in the world. The insanity is shown in the continuous Terrorists attacks through out the film. Bunuel defended the decision by saying that terrorism had become a normality so showed it as such, but their continous appearance makes for a better oddity than comment. The best part about the film has to do with the desire. It seems like blind chance that Bunuel cast two actresses to play the same character, but he plays off their appeal to drive the interest of the audience. Angela Molina, a typical French actress, takes on most of the general nudity of the character for most of the film. What Fernando Ray's character desires he gets out of Angela Molina's, but it seems he can't have it with Carole Bouquet. She is the exotic beauty who remains clothed most of the time and always is elusive to his control and submission. Only late in the film does the audience even get a taste of nudity with her. It isn't a grand idea to play off desire this way, but Bunuel's humor makes it worthwhile. Every inch of the film is drenched in his cynical and anarchistic personality. The personality of the film as a study in visual desire and structure break would influence later filmmakers like David Lynch, especially his film Lost Highway.