The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
French | Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie |
Directed by | Luis Buñuel |
Written by | Luis Buñuel Jean-Claude Carrière |
Produced by | Serge Silberman |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Edmond Richard |
Edited by | Hélène Plemiannikov |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
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Languages |
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Budget | $800,000 |
Box office | $286,916[1] |
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (French: Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie) is a 1972 French-language surrealist black comedy film directed by Luis Buñuel and co-written by Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière.[2] The narrative concerns a group of French bourgeoisie and the fictional South American country of Miranda's ambassador to France attempting—despite continual interruptions—to dine together. The 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 are intertwined. There are also scenes involving other characters, including two in which a Maoist terrorist from Miranda attempts to assassinate the ambassador. The film's world is not logical, and the bizarre events are accepted by the characters.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie was 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 and Carrière).[3]