The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Google Play Movies, YouTube, Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Vudu
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Fernando Rey
Don Rafael
Delphine Seyrig
Mme Thevenot
Paul Frankeur
M. Thevenot
Stéphane Audran
Alice Sénéchal
Bulle Ogier
Florence
Jean-Pierre Cassel
M. Sénéchal
Julien Bertheau
Monseigneur Dufour
Claude Piéplu
Le Colonel
Michel Piccoli
Le Ministre
François Maistre
Delecluze
Pierre Maguelon
Le sergent de police
Maxence Mailfort
Traum-Sergeant
Milena Vukotić
Ines
Maria Gabriella Maione
Terroristin
Muni
Bäuerin
Georges Douking
Gärtner
Christian Baltauss
Lt. Hubert de Rochcahin
Bernard Musson
Serveur
Jacques Rispal
Un gendarme
Robert le Béal
Couturier
Robert Benoît
(uncredited)
Anne-Marie Deschodt
(uncredited)
Ellen Bahl
(uncredited)
Jean-Michel Dhermay
(uncredited)
Jean Degrave
(uncredited)
Sébastien Floche
(uncredited)
Claude Jaeger
(uncredited)
Pierre Lary
(uncredited) / Assistant Director
Alix Mahieux
(uncredited)
Robert Party
(uncredited)
Amparo Soler Leal
(uncredited)
Madeleine Bouchez
Une cliente du salon de thé (uncredited)
Roger Caccia
Le pianiste du salon de thé (uncredited)
Luis Buñuel
Director / Screenplay / Sound Effects
Serge Silberman
Producer
Jean-Claude Carrière
Screenplay
Jacqueline Guyot
Costume Design
Hélène Plemiannikov
Editor
Edmond Richard
Director of Photography
Ulrich Picard
Production Manager
Arnie Gelbart
Assistant Director
Gina Pignier
Assistant Editor
François Suné
Property Master
Pierre Lefait
Location Manager
Jacques Carrère
Sound Mixer
Bernard Noisette
Camera Operator
Odette Berroyer
Makeup Artist
Albert Rajau
Assistant Art Director / Assistant Production Design
Jean Lara
Unit Manager
Fernande Hugi
Makeup Artist
Suzanne Durrenberger
Script
Guy Villette
Sound Engineer
Pierre Guffroy
Production Design
Jean Revel
Jean-Claude Jarry
François Guilloteau
Olivier Bauchet
Diane Vernon
Media.
Details.
Release DateSeptember 15, 1972
Original NameLe Charme discret de la bourgeoisie
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 41m
Budget$800,000
Genres
Wiki.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (French: Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie) is a 1972 comedy-drama film directed by Luis Buñuel from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jean-Claude Carrière. The narrative concerns a group of bourgeois people attempting—despite continual interruptions—to dine together. The French-language film stars Fernando Rey, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Paul Frankeur, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier, Julien Bertheau, and Milena Vukotic.
The film consists of several thematically linked scenes: five gatherings of a group of bourgeois friends, and the four dreams of different characters. The beginning of the film focuses on the gatherings, while the latter part focuses on the dreams, but both types of scenes are intertwined. There are also scenes involving other characters, such as two involving a Latin American female terrorist from the fictional Republic of Miranda. The film's world is not logical: the bizarre events are accepted by the characters, even if they are impossible or contradictory.
Buñuel plays tricks on his characters, luring them toward fine dinners that they expect, and then repeatedly frustrating them in inventive ways. They bristle, and politely express their outrage, but they never stop trying; they relentlessly expect and pursue all that they desire, as though it were their natural right to have others serve and pamper them. He exposes their sense of entitlement, their hypocrisy, and their corruption. In the dream sequences, he explores their intense fears—not just of public humiliation, but of being caught by police and of being mowed down by guns. At least one character's dream sequence is later revealed to be nested, or embedded, in another character's dream sequence. As the dreams-within-dreams unfold, it appears that Buñuel is also playing tricks on his audience as they try to make sense of the story.
The film was both a critical and commercial success. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and BAFTA Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Audran) and Best Original Screenplay (Buñuel, Carrière).