potocki & bunel

Chris Stolz cstolz at acs.ucalgary.ca
Wed Sep 13 23:08:10 CDT 1995


Ach, Bonnie, you're another who doesn't appreciate Bunuel, pity,
his is one of the century's most influential filmmakers, though
his hatred of his subjects (the bourgeoisie) makes some of his
films, such as the otherwise brilliant _Belle de Jour_, a bit
claustrophobic.  This is a film about a weoman who is so trapped
in te hypocrisy of middle-class life and its perverse vision of
sexuality that her imaginative comments on it (the humiliation
scenes) by the end become tyhe film's dominant mode of
narration.  Bunuel as usual collapses the fantasy/reality
distinction, reducing each to shadow of the other and his film
hovers between them, a sort of nasty two-way mirror.  How perfect
an anticipation of '60s sex critiques of society and how bleak a
prognosis!  BTW, his Mexican stuff is amazing as well-- _Los
Olvidados_ is a masterpiece in pseudo-documentary form.  Watch
more of his stuff, you might get to liking him.

chris

-- 
chris stolz 			snail:  16 oakview pl. sw calgary ab
cstolz at acs.ucalgary.ca			canada t2v-3z9 (403) 281-6794

*******************************************************************************

	"He rode in steeplechases, fought in duels, and recognised only 
	three kinds of people: officers, women and civilians, the last-
	named a physically underdeveloped and spiritually contemptible
	class of humanity whose wives and daughters were the legitimate 
	prey of army officers."	

					-- Robert Musil

*******************************************************************************


	



More information about the Pynchon-l mailing list