I chanced upon this film when I was reading about Dinner with Andre. Like most of my mistakes, I jumped into this one without doing a background check. A wet sock of a story gets flung around for an hour and a half, long after our brains have switched off. To be honest, this film does seem like a whale of an influence to future filmmakers. However, it is definitely not something regular film-goers can enjoy. I will say that critics, film students, and completionists will enjoy this.
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is an absurdist, surrealist film, which is almost a film school experiment. It is a series of events that befalls a group of families as they try to have dinner together. I am not kidding - they sit to have dinner and something unexpected interrupts them. There are some really bizarre incidents that happen throughout, which will leave you confounded till you realize that none of them are meant to be taken seriously. Some of the mini-stories will make a wry smile cross your face, and frankly, some of the movie is actually enjoyable. It's only that such tricks have almost no repeat value. Fool me once shame on me, fool me seven times and you are really pushing your luck, buddy! The surrealist elements of the film don't crop up till quite some time. It is not immediately apparent that many of the situations are stand-ins, either satires or surrealist fantasies. The film begins as a weak attempt at mocking the shallow lives of socialites. Their posturing, assumed statures, and adherence to arbitrary customs are easy targets that the film tries to satire. Somewhere down the line it takes a turn into the bizarre with meandering story lines, inconsequential characters, and unexpected U-turns. Some of it did bowl me over as I really didn't expect anything like it. But after a time when no pattern or method was discernible, I could do no better than appreciate the creators for their ideas without enjoying any of it.
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a highly experimental film that needs to be applauded for its audacity, especially considering the time when it was made. I am sure it has had massive impact on a lot of filmmakers. Influences for the pointless conversations of Pulp Fiction and the red herrings of David Lynch films can be clearly seen here. However, that doesn't make the 100 minutes of the movie sitting any less excruciating.
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is an absurdist, surrealist film, which is almost a film school experiment. It is a series of events that befalls a group of families as they try to have dinner together. I am not kidding - they sit to have dinner and something unexpected interrupts them. There are some really bizarre incidents that happen throughout, which will leave you confounded till you realize that none of them are meant to be taken seriously. Some of the mini-stories will make a wry smile cross your face, and frankly, some of the movie is actually enjoyable. It's only that such tricks have almost no repeat value. Fool me once shame on me, fool me seven times and you are really pushing your luck, buddy! The surrealist elements of the film don't crop up till quite some time. It is not immediately apparent that many of the situations are stand-ins, either satires or surrealist fantasies. The film begins as a weak attempt at mocking the shallow lives of socialites. Their posturing, assumed statures, and adherence to arbitrary customs are easy targets that the film tries to satire. Somewhere down the line it takes a turn into the bizarre with meandering story lines, inconsequential characters, and unexpected U-turns. Some of it did bowl me over as I really didn't expect anything like it. But after a time when no pattern or method was discernible, I could do no better than appreciate the creators for their ideas without enjoying any of it.
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a highly experimental film that needs to be applauded for its audacity, especially considering the time when it was made. I am sure it has had massive impact on a lot of filmmakers. Influences for the pointless conversations of Pulp Fiction and the red herrings of David Lynch films can be clearly seen here. However, that doesn't make the 100 minutes of the movie sitting any less excruciating.