That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) on Netflix
On a train from Seville to Paris, Mathieu pours a bucket of water on Conchita, a young flamenco dancer. He then tells his fellow passengers how she frustrates his desire for her.
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Trailer
Plot summary
Mathieu, a middle-aged Frenchman, boards a train from Seville to Paris, trying to put distance between himself and Conchita, a young flamenco dancer. As the train leaves, he sees her on the platform and pours a bucket of water over her. His fellow passengers, among them a mother and her daughter, a judge and a psychologist, ask why. Mathieu explains that Conchita, who says she is eighteen, has vowed to stay a virgin until marriage. She draws him close with promises and then refuses him, and the two part and come together again and again. Their story unfolds amid a terrorist campaign of bombings and shootings by left-wing groups in Spain and France.
Cast
- Valerie Blancoas Isabelle (as Valérie Blanco)
- Auguste Carrièreas La femme qui reprise dans la vitrine (as Auguste Carriere)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Luis Buñuel's two-actress trick for Conchita came after an actress's tempestuous argument halted shooting in Madrid in 1977 and producer Serge Silberman decided to abandon the film; over drinks in a bar, Buñuel's joking suggestion of two actresses in one role, a tactic he said had never been tried before, saved it.
- Luis Buñuel: The Complete Films names Maria Schneider as the actress who could not play Conchita: after three days of shooting it was clear she was not going to be able to, and Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina stepped in.
- Ángela Molina said Luis Buñuel needed to see her completely naked at her audition, which she imagined was to convince him she was what he required for the film; she wore the dressing gown that appears in the film.
