Some months back, one of the TCM Imports movies was Luis Buñuel's movie The Exterminating Angel. Since the plot synopsis sounded interesting and didn't mention Buñuel by name, I decided to record it and have a go.
The movie opens up with an establishing shot of a Calle de la Providencia, presumably in Mexico City although I don't think any specific location is given, and one of the mansions on the street. As the movie opens, one of the servants is leaving the house, basically quitting his job, for unstated reasons. A couple of the other servants also feel ill at ease, although they don't quite know why.
The servants are supposed to be preparing dinner for their bosses and a bunch of well-to-do guests, but it's a shockingly late dinner, past 11:00 PM. (Granted, I work the early shift so I eat on Old People's Time, but 11:00 seems way too late for anybody, except possibly people who work a weird shift that doesnt let them eat a big main meal beforehand.) The guests have the sort of conversation you'd expect at such a dinner party, and retire to the salon where one of the guets plays baroque music on the piano.
After that, it's time to leave... except that for some reason, nobody does leave. Not only do they not go home, they all decide to sleep in the salon, no guest rooms for anybody. And when they wake up, everybody feels as though they can't leave for some reason nobody's able to state. They can't even go to the kitchen to get food and water, much less get out of the house. Obviously, if things go on like this, they'll starve to death.
Meanwhile, outside, the authorities realize something strange is going on after nobody leaves the house for a couple of days. Not only that, but they're not able to have contact with anybody inside the house. You'd think they could just walk in but, sort of like in Village of the Damned, there's a sort of invisible cordon that nobody is able to get past that prevents them from entering the house.
Conditions start to deteriorate inside the house what with the lack of food. (Never mind that nobody mentions the bathroom, unless there was one just off the salon that they were able to use.) They also have ever more absurd thoughts and hallucinations. Will anybody be able to get out alive? And just what is going on, really?
As The Exterminating Angel went on, I found myself liking it less and less. Then I had the inspiration of comparing it to an episode of The Twilight Zone, hoping that would get me to like the movie. But no luck. First, none of the characters here are particularly interesting and they don't have any sort of back story to flesh things out. That, and episodes of The Twilight Zone resolved themselves in a half hour minus commercials. The Exterminating Angel goes on for over 90. It doesn't work, as much as some peopel may want it to simply because of the stellar reputation Luis Buñuel has.
I suppose if you like arthouse stuff that the goodthinkful critics praise, then you'll like The Exterminating Angel. But it wasn't my thing at all.
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