France 1972,102 mins (Dir. Luis Bunuel) starring Fernando Rey, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Paul Frankeur, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier, Milena Vukotic.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a dreamlike comedy-drama film directed by the Spanish-born Luis Buñuel (1900-1983) from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jean-Claude Carrière.
From his time at university Bunuel was close friends with both the poet and dramatist Garcia Lorca and the painter Salvador Dali. Like many other early leaders of the Surrealist movement his work gives expression to what then were the recent psychoanalytic insights of Sigmund Freud and the social and economic ideas of Marx. A dinner party which does not go as the guests or the audience might reasonably expect allows Bunuel to expose the pretentious vacuity of the bourgeoisie and the destabilising influence of our unconscious fears.
The film was both 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, Carrière).
Please book a seat by 1pm on the day of the film
Tickets: £9 Members / £12 Non-Members
Alternatively, book HFS Membership for the season September 2024 – June 2025 (10 films):
HLSI Members: £50
Non-Members: £55
Doors open at 7.00pm for pre-film drinks (included in the price of the ticket)
Film starts at 7.30pm
Film Talk at 9.30pm