The Exterminating Angel (1962)

The Exterminating Angel (1962): The inherent chaos comes to the surface when the bourgeoisie,

overwhelmed by the current circumstance, can no longer maintain the facade of normalcy.

Luis Buñuel started his career in cinema with Un Chien Andalou (1929), a short movie that redefined the boundaries of filmmaking at the time. However, he had to abandon the style as he began making movies that had to be successful at the box office. The Exterminating Angel (1962) marks Bunuel's return to surrealistic themes. His movies in the interim often include references to surrealism, but he was unable to make one. Unfortunately, the movie remains less known among his more accomplished works. The central theme in The Exterminating is the bourgeoisie and its inherent corruption. The narrative unfolds at a strange dinner party to which a number of high-society members of Mexico City are invited. The guests discover they cannot leave the drawing room where they gathered after dinner to listen to music. As time passes and they run out of food and water, tension rises, and people begin to reveal their true nature. We gradually discover signs of lies, deceit, infidelity, superstition, and sexual perversion. Bunuel frequently has used an unexpected event that overwhelms the bourgeoisie, since they have not learned how to respond to it. In this movie, the sudden and apparently irrational departure of the servants and chef when the host has invited a number of friends for dinner is considered nothing less than a “conspiracy.” However, he keeps the butler, who holds a high rank among the servants and low standing among the guests, implying his precarious position on the threshold of the bourgeois world. The bourgeoisie have learned the art of feigning normalcy, no matter how bizarre the circumstances. Initially, we observe the guests, despite their understanding that they cannot cross the room's threshold, pretending that they wish to remain inside.

Bunuel poignantly demonstrates the pretentious behavior of a music lover who breaks down an old, invaluable cello with an ax from the Middle Ages to be used as a wood fire. A bear was brought in to entertain the guests, who were attacking sheep and tearing them apart. Another reference to the violent entertainment that the bourgeoisie enjoys. During another entertaining act, a guest became upset when, as a servant tripped over himself, a small piece of food landed on his face. He called it distasteful. And the hostess decides to cancel the bear’s act. Later, we find the bear, playful and gentle, ropes up a chandelier chain. At the same time, the hungry bourgeoisie members assume the role the bear was supposed to play. They kill the sheep and turn a beautifully designed drawing room, adorned with relics from the Middle Ages (a reference to the vagrant nature of the bourgeoisie despite their refined appearance), into a nomadic feast.