That Obscure Object of Desire

The sixth and last collaboration between Luis Bunuel and Jean-Claude Carriere was 1977's That Obscure Object of Desire, which, on its face, is a misogynistic rant, but upon further thought probably isn't that far from the truth for many men.

Based on a fin de siecle novel by Pierre Louys, the film begins with a distinguished-looking businessman (Fernando Rey) hurriedly leaving his house in Seville, Spain. He is aboard a train when a woman races after him. He tips a conductor, who gives him a bucket of water, which he promptly uses to drench her. His seatmates on the train are perplexed, to say the least, so he entertains them with his story as the train heads to Paris.

It turns out that the young woman, Conchita, was originally a chambermaid of his. She quits after one day when he gets overly affectionate. The two will then spend a few years of being apart and together, but all the while she will not sleep with him. He tries everything he can think of to get in her pants, even paying her mother, but she resists, even wearing a canvas chastity belt which he struggles to remove.

Essentially, she is a classic cocktease, spurning his advances while telling him she loves him. He is, in essence, a pig, as he is much older than she is and though he says he loves her, it's really only because of her great beauty--what could these two have to talk to each other about?

The film is notable for two things. One, Conchita is played by two actresses, Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina. Bunuel did this almost accidentally, as another actress dropped out and he didn't want to be caught short, but he turns it into a creative exercise. Bouquet and Molina occupy the part interchangeably, sometimes in the same scene. But, they do not play the part identically. Molina is much warmer, and looks the right age, while Bouquet has an icier demeanor.

Secondly, throughout the film there are random scenes of terroristic violence. Apparently Bunuel was fascinated by this going back to his days in '20s Paris, and he intersperses the film with bombings and shootings by radical European bands. This foreshadowing eventually becomes obvious, but gives the film a political veneer that makes it more interesting.

There have been many films about men obsessed with women who, in their right mind, they would have nothing to do with. I can think of The Blue Angel off the top of my head, but there are a lot more. It's easy to tut-tut as a viewer and say that no man would ever subject himself to that sort of behavior, but can I really say I wouldn't do the same thing?

That being said, the scene in which Rey beats Conchita up does not stand up given the thirty-five years that have passed. Though it may provide a catharsis for both character and viewer, it's just not right, especially when he tells his listeners on the train, "So you can agree that she deserved that licking?" No, no she didn't.