L'Age D'Or

Who knew that rank blasphemy could be so much fun? Luis Bunuel's first feature film (made in 1930) is one of the most subversive films he ever made (or anyone ever made for that matter). He takes a step beyond the pure surrealism of Un Chien Andalou, though still partnered with Salvador Dali. His technique is crude, but his images are potent and, well, hilarious. It's a merging of art and politics: he takes on the Church and the clergy with more ferocity and imagination than anything in Fellini, and of course he attacks bourgeois society. Though it was made at the beginning of the sound era, there is very little sound except for music and some sparse dialogue. I wish I could describe all of the memorable images, but he stuffs it as full as one can in 60 minutes. Though I'm still reeling from the ending -- I'm not sure if he takes it too far or only to its logical conclusion -- in which there is a brief blurb about the Marquis de Sade and the 120 days of Sodom. After describing the desecrations, adulterations, and orgies, the exhausted (from too many orgies, no doubt) leader emerges from the castle and is none other than... Jesus! With my jaw agape, I wasn't sure if I should laugh or be incredibly offended. The film is deliberately pornographic, subversive, and scandalous, but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.