When I was going to school in London, I decided to take an elective course in International Surrealism, which dealt with various types of foreign films and literature dealing in the most surrealist of characters and situations by a collection of various artists who saw the world in decidedly slanted fashion. It was during that course when I first encountered the great Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel through a viewing of one of his most famous films, Un Chien Andalou. The short film was little more than a collection of strung-together images dealing in the outrageous sides of humanity and society with the most memorable one, a blade slicing through a human eye, becoming an iconic image in international cinema. It was an unforgettable introduction to Bunuel and the labyrinth that was his mind, and the main reason his 1962 film The Exterminating Angel feels like a true masterpiece.
In The Exterminating Angel, a group of people arrive at the mansion of a wealthy couple following an evening at the opera. The group enjoys dinner, drinks, and each other’s company long into the night and well into the next morning. All of a sudden it becomes apparent that for some unexplained reason, the party is unable to set foot outside the drawing room they are currently in, making them unable to leave the house and forcing them to face some of their darkest fears and demons in the process.
It takes a certain kind of audience member to embrace the wonderfully absurdist tone and feel of The Exterminating Angel. There are a number of moments within the film which practically scream surrealism, such as the repetition of certain character actions and lines of dialogue which continuously reappear as well as fantasy-like moments such as the scene in which a woman believes she sees a disembodied hand crawling towards her. It’s hard not to be captivated in watching each time a person tries to leave, and yet is stopped by some force which literally defies explanation. All of the events (including the characters’ own realizations that none of them can leave, but can’t say why) definitely makes the film feel grounded in a very real place, making the whole experience so frightening and fascinating at the same time. However, what makes Bunuel’s movie so powerful is that it’s incredibly realistic in the sense that countless individuals wake up everyday in the real world with the intention of venturing outside their homes into society with various intents and purposes. Yet sometimes there is an element which forces their plans to change which is unforeseen and unplanned, causing them to remain in the comfort of their own home, thus turning away from society.
The Exterminating Angel will also forever remain Bunuel’s ultimate comment on upper class society. When we first encounter the doomed group, everyone is at their best behavior, talking about the right things and remembering to be endlessly civil. As their situation grows more and more dire, the mood drastically changes. Those who were friends become enemies, and this pocket of high society gradually slides down the class ladder until they become actual savages when pushed to what is the ultimate brink of madness and desperation. Not only is Bunuel breaking down the class barriers and refusing social mores and customs, but what he is also so brilliantly suggesting is that deep down society will always remain a collection of barbarians.
When Nora Ephron was making a tribute to the great director Mike Nichols at his AFI tribute some years back, she compared herself and the rest of the attendees to a Bunuel movie. calling them all “a pack of people who owe Mike everything and are therefore doomed to spend eternity giving him awards.” It may seem trivial, but in that quote the brilliant Ephron touched upon a hidden essence of The Exterminating Angel. In the end, the film proves itself to be one of the quintessential comments on fate and the notion of how it has claimed ownership over the individual. Bunuel’s film shows that the idea of a person controlling their own destiny is false. In reality, a person is constantly doing battle with fate and destiny simultaneously, in a usually vain effort to try and shape the life each person wants to lead and the direction in which it goes.
The Package
Aside from the film’s original trailer, a pair of previously filmed interviews featuring cast member Silvia Pinal and Mexican director Arturo Ripstein are included, which delve into the film’s impact as well as Bunuel’s unmatched skills as a director.
The real prize here, however, is the documentary The Last Script: Remembering Luis Bunuel, in which the director’s son, Juan Luis Bunuel, and Jean-Claude Carriere discuss the legendary filmmaker’s illustrious career and his impact on international cinema.
The Lowdown
As spellbinding now as it ever was, Bunuel’s The Exterminating Angel is a philosophical marvel which is both maddening and compelling in the most cinematic way possible.
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The Exterminating Angel — [Blu-ray] | [DVD] | [Amazon Video]
