Le Fantôme de la Liberté (The Phantom of Liberty) (The Specter of Freedom) (1974)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Robert C

  
  There is a LOT going on in this film! Bunuel takes "modern" society to task in an a very ammusing, slightly dark but always insightful manner. I found it very interesting and had a few good chuckles along the way. Not my favorite Bunuel film...but well worth a watch.

• Aditya G

  
  The Granddaddy of surrealist cinema directed his penultimate film at the age of 74. And, my goodness, what creativity at that age! What a grand accomplishment in cinema with one of the most radically unconventional films ever made! It is difficult to outline the greatness of "The… More
  The Granddaddy of surrealist cinema directed his penultimate film at the age of 74. And, my goodness, what creativity at that age! What a grand accomplishment in cinema with one of the most radically unconventional films ever made! It is difficult to outline the greatness of "The Phantom of Liberty" in words but this review makes the most sincere attempt. In Bunuel's universe, expect the unexpected. So please throw out all your expectations of finding rational explanations to the events or trying to make sense of them in the logical manner. What Bunuel gives you is the epitome of absurdity. There is absolutely no rationale backing the actions or behavioral traits of the characters here. What we have is characters behaving in the oddest of manners. So a seemingly normal event becomes a reason for raising eyebrows. On the other hand, a seriously eyebrow raising event is met with lack of reaction and is deemed not worth acting upon! This pretty much summarizes the universe of "The Phantom of Liberty". [img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-S0-DtDBU-gk/TtZlHS2mP6I/AAAAAAAACHo/f3MR-9e1vI8/s560/vlcsnap-2011-11-30-22h38m35s107.jpg[/img] The film puts out a series of very interesting and twisted narratives chained together in a very unique manner. A minor character of one narrative takes the film forward by becoming the main character of the next narrative. This is how focus shifts from character to character, like in a relay race where a baton is passed on. Now that is truly amazing storytelling if nothing else! Bunuel also admits that the episodes are derived from his own personal experiences. It is almost as if Bunuel and Jean-Claude Carriere (co-scriptwriter) had vivid dreams based on their personal experiences, each dream weirder than the other and they penned down each dream and turned it into one feature-length script! Let it be noted though that Bunuel's world isn't derived from fantasy; everything is based in the real world, only the occurrences don't follow the norms of the real world. [img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-j8n3Bsb8dzg/TtZlHrZZhlI/AAAAAAAACHs/TWjNsX4HcrY/s560/vlcsnap-2011-11-30-22h40m54s209.jpg[/img] The events in the film take wackiness to another level; yet they range from inherently comic to highly disturbing. The 'disturbing' quotient mostly comes from the display of some aberrant sexuality surrounding at least three of the major characters in a couple of episodes. There is plenty of material here to keep you glued to your seats and ensure that you have a mighty good time, sometimes cringing and sometimes smiling with glee! Despite the insane nature of the script, Bunuel certainly had a motive to write these scenes the way he wrote them. There are multiple themes in this film, as Bunuel himself declares in his autobiography. Most notably, the importance of chance occurrences or coincidence and the essential mystery of all things, including the ambiguous nature of truth. There is a lot to be taken home from "The Phantom of Liberty". One may also argue that Bunuel's eccentric, exaggerated vision is a vehicle to depict how certain things happening in this world around us are simply wrong! Like a dreaded killer who should be hanged sometimes ends up being a media-created celebrity! The inherent difficulty faced by human beings to accept the truth when they finally come face to face with it is depicted through at least two episodes in the film in a hyperbolic manner. Like in his earlier film "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" there is also a fleeting satire on the hypocrisy of the upper middle class. [img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q6wzBMRFjF4/TtZlGOCafQI/AAAAAAAACHU/axhookI1c3c/s560/vlcsnap-2011-11-30-22h33m28s104.jpg[/img] The actors all play their parts with conviction, and prominent French actors Michel Piccoli and Michael Lonsdale briefly appear in small but extremely memorable scenes. Bunuel, noted for his economic film-making uses minimal sets and almost no special/makeup effects; uses mostly indoor locations to shoot his scenes. There is also a prominent lack of a background score and certain apparently big events are shown off-screen and conveyed only through sound. But this is the narrative device that succeeds most. When events are off-screen and left to the viewer's imagination, it enhances the impact. There are a number of such instances in "The Phantom of Liberty". Bunuel gives you quality cinema near the end of his highly prolific career. "The Phantom of Liberty" is an unforgettable film experience. Cherish this film and its maker; they are a rarity. Score: 10/10

• Pierluigi P

  
  Buñuel's dark sense of humour can make us not only witnesses but supporters of this derision to all institutions that rule society. A concatenation of segments that adress tragedies, misbehavings and formalisms with the same farcical tone. Possibly inspired by 'The Saragossa… More
  Buñuel's dark sense of humour can make us not only witnesses but supporters of this derision to all institutions that rule society. A concatenation of segments that adress tragedies, misbehavings and formalisms with the same farcical tone. Possibly inspired by 'The Saragossa manuscript' one of Buñuel's personal favourite films.

• Elvira B

  
  Buñuel's 1974 surrealist comedy is really a sequence of skits that mostly begin but never reach an ending, overlapping each other, completely without relation. All of them regard the different conventions and attitudes of society that Buñuel despised: he ridicules them, subverts… More
  Buñuel's 1974 surrealist comedy is really a sequence of skits that mostly begin but never reach an ending, overlapping each other, completely without relation. All of them regard the different conventions and attitudes of society that Buñuel despised: he ridicules them, subverts them, and exposes them with a wit and an irreverence that are as shocking for their imagery as they are for their odd containment and elegance. I think this is probably the most wildly intelligent comedy I've ever seen, which is enhanced by the director's impeccable narrative style and the extensive first-rate cast. Definitely a must-watch for anyone looking to find the non-sense in what is usually considered logical, to be scandalized or to laugh for 2 hours straight.

• Eric B

  
  "The Phantom of Liberty" (the penultimate work of director Luis Bunuel's amazing career) is a tricky film to get a handle on, because it's structured like a "Monty Python's Flying Circus" episode. Nothing but quirky vignettes and transitions, with no… More
  "The Phantom of Liberty" (the penultimate work of director Luis Bunuel's amazing career) is a tricky film to get a handle on, because it's structured like a "Monty Python's Flying Circus" episode. Nothing but quirky vignettes and transitions, with no sense of overall narrative shape. A DVD interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere reveals the perverse concept was to follow a story that is abandoned just when it turns most interesting, and then switch to a less interesting story. Wow. Notable sequences span a missing child who isn't really missing, a visit with a sadomasochistic couple, a surreal night of insomnia and the strangest dinner-table scene you'll ever see. Other pieces will fade from memory as soon as the film ends. The cast is stuffed with European actors whose faces are more familiar than their names, including Monica Vitti, Michel Piccoli, Jean Rochefort, Michael Lonsdale and Adolfo Celi.

• Ryan M

  
  **** out of **** Luis Buñuel is easily the master surrealist of timeless cinema. He has made a few great films, a few good ones, and quite a lot that are categorized otherwise; although it's doubtful that such films in the latter category are amongst the director's finest… More
  **** out of **** Luis Buñuel is easily the master surrealist of timeless cinema. He has made a few great films, a few good ones, and quite a lot that are categorized otherwise; although it's doubtful that such films in the latter category are amongst the director's finest works. Buñuel has made the same movie many times, from the looks of it; most of his best films are told through a confusing, non-linear surrealist plot revolving around coincidences and chance encounters; as well as things that just arrive unnoticed out of nowhere and get us where it hurts. Buñuel's surrealist fantasies are often satires; and he understands something great about human nature. I saw his "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" not long ago, and I loved it for its sharp (and humorous) commentary on the titular social class. In that particular film, the foolishness of these elegant snobs was exploited for our pleasure; and at their expense. I expect that the reason behind Buñuel's profilic repetition is that he knows how to recycle with skill; I haven't seen the majority of his films yet, and in fact, "The Phantom of Liberty" - the film which I am talking about here - is only my second outing with Buñuel; and just like my first, it was a pleasant and complex one. How surprising it is that it only took two films for me to grasp and understand the art of Buñuel; and this is that you cannot always understand or decode his films the old fashion way, but his themes are conclusive and brightly explored. Therefore, he has an audience and a whole lot of uncanny appeal. The filmmaker - the poet, the surrealist, the visionary, the storyteller - has an awkward but provocative fascination with sexuality and desire here. "The Phantom of Liberty" begins with a scene that, as I am told, was inspired by the Spanish short story called "The Kiss". The film opens in Toledo; where French Napoleonic troops have occupied the area and are kidnapping (as well as executing) flamboyant rebels. After this is over, the soldiers head to a church where they (figuratively) contaminate the walls of the building with their accumulative excrement; which comes in the form of eating the communion wafers and drinking the wine, among other things. This sequence ends, ironically, with one of the soldiers telepathically expressing his love for a feminine statue; prompting the stone woman's mate to give the suitor a whack on the back of the head, which knocks him unconscious. What this scene ends up suggesting, in relevance, I shall not reveal; for it is far too hilarious and true to the darkest of life. Buñuel's film then moves on to present day, where a nanny takes a young girl from a bourgeoisie family to the park one fine afternoon, where she is given an envelope from a strange and much older man. Upon arriving home, the girl is questioned by her parents; who fire the nanny for her lack of control in this situation, and also open the envelope to find photos of French architecture (which they find odd sexual stimulation from, and thus, they must rid their home of such disgust). They hide behind their other, hidden existence. I can't tell you all that happens in the film; so the other stories shall be left for you to discover, witness, and absorb with equal pleasure. "The Phantom of Liberty" is a whimsy treat that employs the filmmaker's most standard and world-renown methods of trickery; there are sequences both real and imagined, although they all feel somewhat surrealistic all-the-same. I think it's the structure of the plot - which could be referred to as an anti-plot since it refuses to make much sense beyond the trait of the mentioned "chance encounters" and "coincidences" (both common in the works of director Buñuel) - that makes the film such a phenomenal and fantastical watch. There isn't a dull moment to spare, and in spite of the consistent feeling of confusion and dream-like whimsy, you won't be scratching your pretty little heads as many times as you might expect; or at least that applies if you are somewhat familiar already with the works of this director or the genre he is most fond of contributing to. Before I leave you with much to desire from "The Phantom of Liberty", I should perhaps mention the best of the film's many non-linear stories; the one in which the privacies of the restroom and the social qualities of a big meal are reversed; thus placing many people in difficult situations. People sit at toilets, all joined together and regrettably out-in-the-open; while they may leave when they please when it comes to the eating portion of the prolonged "activity". Another scene that I loved was a dream sequence; the dream itself belonging to the father of the bourgeoisie daughter. In his dream world, emus and chickens roam freely across carpets, the mail-man rides his bike right into your bedroom and delivers your mail right then and there, and a lady in black stands by the bed and blows out a candle; engulfing the room itself in complete blackness. There are many characters and individual situations here; too many to mention, and too many to remember. I loved the film because it is 100% Buñuel; his fans will enjoy it the most, that is, if they have not seen it already. While "The Phantom of Liberty" may ponder such distressing themes as pedophilia, necrophilia, sadomasochism, and incest; it's still a very funny satire that dwells on all things surreal and gleefully absurd. It's often goofy, but at the same time, more thoughtful than most satirical films nowadays. They just don't make them like this anymore; and with good reason. I admire the daring approach that the filmmaker takes to his style; he turns himself on his head and lets us comprehend what his choices mean to both us and himself. You might call that pretension; I call it the work of one of cinema's finest illusionists.

• Ivan D

  
  Very seldom do I privately clap at what I see on screen, and this film is one of the rarities. To be very specific, it happened during the film's most famous(or notorious, if you may)scene(the toilet-dining room). Luis Bunuel is very open about the fact that sometimes, the… More
  Very seldom do I privately clap at what I see on screen, and this film is one of the rarities. To be very specific, it happened during the film's most famous(or notorious, if you may)scene(the toilet-dining room). Luis Bunuel is very open about the fact that sometimes, the imagery he creates has little to no meaning at all. But in that particular sequence, I just lauded at how perfect his surrealistic symbolism has come into, and how he, once more, placed the upper-class in utmost ridicule. It's a very inspired moment in the film, and may very well be summarized by a vulgar colloquialism: "They speak out of their a**, and they talk sh**". Of course, as much as I expected "The Phantom of Liberty" to be a part of a "Bourgeoisie satire" trilogy("The Exterminating Angel" and "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie"), it was unveiled as a humorous attack on police procedural and the judiciary system itself, and not just to a specific social class, but to the morally fallacious behaviors of its human studies. For some filmmakers trying to create a critique-type film about these subject matters, they would rather delve into uncomfortable territories, then construct a palatable narrative out of it. But Bunuel, always known for his complexly analyzed surrealistic films, has came up with an idea of unusual simplicity to give the film a more lasting impact: a clever application of unconscious sarcasm. Films with this content, comedic or not, can easily be branded as an attack to the common premises of cinematic mores, but this work is handled very delicately(with very convincing performances) that it came out looking very harmless. But just like his 1972 Oscar winner, it comes with a sharpened pitchfork hidden behind its humorous cloak, always armed to radically poke its intended targets, but at the same time, still ready to entertain with its uncommon laughs.

• Christopher B

  
  A series of very entertaining, surreal vignettes. Great stuff.

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