The discreet charm of the Bourgeoisie

In this 1972 masterpiece, Luis Bunuel makes his characters repeatedly try and fail to enjoy an opulent dining experience , Bunuel achieves this sense of incompleted closure by bringing into play a symbolic world of subconscious imagery. Thus, Bunuel's movie was inspiring both for the very setting chosen and for the dream-like state of mind that is fundamental as an element of narrative.

One of the most poignant scenes takes place when the two couples are invited to a misterious dinner. When they're finally sitting at the table, after several failed attempts to have a dinner, they realize they're on a stage. The curtains go up and they find themselves facing this hidden prompter, very angry at the fact that they don't remember the scripted lines they must recite in front of an displeased audience. Dream sequences such as this one repeat throughout the movie and are quite characteristic of the surrealist movement, from which Bunuel never got free since his 1929 work with Dali "Un chien andalou".