The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #53 extract: The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie (1972)

A meandering journey through the anxieties, desires and fears of a group of upper-class friends who just can't seem to sit down and eat together. 

Most reminiscent of The Exterminating Angel, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie deals with the formalities of the upper-classes by essentially invading spaces and exploiting rules of engagement. Awkwardness and out-of-placeness is then a key element of this film with the tone-deaf drama emerging from a conflict between the stiffness of social settings and the chaos of imagination and emotion that resides with the people who inhabit it. In a strange way, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie ultimately makes efforts to humanise its ridiculous set of characters, utilising far less satire and critique than The Exterminating Angel - at least, this is what you sense. 

Not as striking as Buñuel earlier works, this is absurd before it is surreal, and so my response is pretty neutral as of now. I wonder what a re-watch would bring, however...