Fifth about The Seventh

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie)

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie: Luis Buñuel’s film follows the misadventures of a group of friends as they try to get a meal together. That’s certainly one way to describe this film, one that is factually correct but also fails to portray how surreal the situation actually gets. The plot is thin, but every episode is very entertaining and fascinating in its own way, even if the group of entitled and corrupt upper-class people doesn’t really deserve the meal. Acting is low-key, as the characters take all the absurd happening around them in stride: Delphine Seyrig, Stéphane Audran (particularly good as the hostess), and Bulle Ogier play the somewhat under-developed three women, while Fernando Rey, Paul Frankeur, and Jean-Pierre Cassel play the three dirty friends. Cinematographer Edmond Richard moves his camera constantly and elegantly around the (theatrically) large sets created by the production designer Pierre Guffroy.

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