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The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Play trailer Poster for The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie PG 1972 1h 40m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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98% Tomatometer 60 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
The ambassador of the Latin American republic of Miranda (Fernando Rey), M. Thevenot (Paul Frankeur), his wife Simone (Delphine Seyrig) and her sister Florence (Bulle Ogier) arrive for a dinner party at the house of Alice Sénéchal (Stéphane Audran) and her husband Henri (Jean-Pierre Cassel), only to learn that they were mistaken about the date. In director Luis Buñuel's surreal fantasy, the six bourgeois friends repeatedly gather for a dinner that never quite arrives.
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The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

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Critics Consensus

An intoxicating dose of the director's signature surrealist style, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie represents Buñuel at his most accessible.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/28/2023
The charm of the film is that the old magician can show off his skills and make fun of them at the same time... There is nothing else in the movie -- just the surprises, and the pleasures of [Buñuel] dexterity as he springs them. Go to Full Review Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 09/09/2022
4/5
... Simultaneously darkly satirical, bleak, witty and lightly amusing. Go to Full Review David Denby The Atlantic 06/21/2022
Bunuel’s art is as insolent as ever. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a deeply funny movie, as a viewing experience it’s like walking across a perilous, sway little bridge whose guide rails periodically snatched away. Go to Full Review Brian Susbielles InSession Film 03/02/2023
Surrealist satire attacking the upper classes for their sexual morals, attraction to social status, and detachment from reality... Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 09/12/2022
Discreet Charm is a deadpan farce forever flirting with anarchy. Go to Full Review Neely Swanson Easy Reader (California) 07/27/2022
Absurdity is piled onto absurdity and reality and surreality blend until it is impossible to tell which is which. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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bob c Nov 12 Dated but still good. A rather gentle black comedic look at the French bourgeoisie and their allies. Very subtle for the early 1970s and maybe too so for now. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 9 Funny in 1 2/3 hours!!!!!!!! In Canadian French and English versions with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Alain E @AlainE May 29 An anarchist movie against conventional morals, religion and conservative politics. In the end, every road leads to a dead end. The lone revolutionary is arrested by the police, never to be heard from again. The bishop is called to give the last rites to the murderer of his parents. The military is involved in some ridiculous war games. There is no way out. See more Laura B @LauraBR 02/18/2025 The film feels like a continuous discontinuity, where Buñuel manages to reconcile pure classicism (narrative, types of framing, psychological development of the characters) with the most modern cinematographic resources (repetitions, large ellipses, random montage). One of his most accomplished and perfect films. See more Alejandro E @Alex970 07/21/2024 La aristocracia, retratada con toda la acidez, y surrealismo que hacen distintivo a Buñuel. No se requiere mucho esfuerzo mental para comprender la bizarra odisea que involucra una cena que nunca logra celebrarse. De las indispensables. See more 雅苏 典 05/20/2024 一个个小穿插有些跳跃，但整部片子还是有些别致的魅力和味趣 See more Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Luis Buñuel

Director

Fernando Rey

Don Rafael

Delphine Seyrig

Mme Thevenot

Stéphane Audran

Alice Senechal (as Stephane Audran)

Jean-Pierre Cassel

M. Senechal

Paul Frankeur

M. Thevenot

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The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis The ambassador of the Latin American republic of Miranda (Fernando Rey), M. Thevenot (Paul Frankeur), his wife Simone (Delphine Seyrig) and her sister Florence (Bulle Ogier) arrive for a dinner party at the house of Alice Sénéchal (Stéphane Audran) and her husband Henri (Jean-Pierre Cassel), only to learn that they were mistaken about the date. In director Luis Buñuel's surreal fantasy, the six bourgeois friends repeatedly gather for a dinner that never quite arrives.
Director
Luis Buñuel
Producer
Serge Silberman
Screenwriter
Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
Distributor
Criterion Collection, 20th Century Fox, Media Home Entertainment, Rialto Pictures, Applause Video
Production Co
Dean Film, Greenwich Film Productions, Jet Films S.A.
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 15, 1972, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$82.5K
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Mono
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