A film with a very intriguing premise, the idea nevertheless wears rather thin not after long, but there's enough in it to still make this an interesting watch. Buñuel is satirising the mannerisms of the upper class here, and a few thought-provoking ideas do come to light, but despite the characters been quite well introduced, few are explored very well. It is a bit hard for this reason to care for any of the characters or their experience, and it ends up being quite melodramatic and dreary to watch. The story is not very convincing either, since it interchanges between horror and satire so that we are not sure just what exactly is keeping the characters at bay. As a surrealist piece, an explanation is perhaps not necessary, and although few, its few surrealism bits work very well. The black and white photography is perfectly suited to the project, with stark contrasts and some nice gliding shots. There are a number of good elements in the film, but I would be cautious about how strongly to recommend it.
Review of The Exterminating Angel
