The Exterminating Angel

One of a string of films by Luis Buñuel sticking it to the bourgeoisie, the church, the authorities, the man, The Exterminating Angel (El Ángel Exterminador) looked wildly radical and political when it debuted in 1962. Now it looks like a metaphor in search of a story. Times change. Even before things have descended into the purely allegorical, Buñuel is telling us that something is afoot. All is not well at the grand house preparing for an after-party for the swells who have just attended the opera. Everyone is uneasy. The servants are making excuses to get out of the building before their social superiors arrive. When this gaggle of top-hatted, fur-wearing toffs … Read more