That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)

Just after boarding a train, much to the surprise of his fellow passengers, a man pours a bucket of water over a young girl on the platform. Over the next few hours he explains (and we see in flashback) how he became obsessed by her (so much so that he failed to notice that she was played by two different actresses, representing different sides of her personality), and how she tantalised him, but would never allow him to satisfy his desire for her...
Cast and Information
Directed By: Luis Buñuel
Written By: Jean-Claude Carrière, Luis Buñuel, Pierre Louÿs
Starring: Fernando Rey, Ángela Molina, Milena Vukotic, Carole Bouquet, María Asquerino, Julien Bertheau, Jacques Debary, André Weber, Ellen Bahl, Valerie Blanco, Auguste Carrière, Antonio Duque
Genre: Drama
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That Obscure Object of Desire belongs to 62 collections
1. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 167 stars)
2. boobs (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 51 stars)
3. Surreal (collaborative - 48 stars)
4. Certified weird (collaborative: moderated by Dreamer - 47 stars)
5. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
6. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Top 1000 Movies (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 38 stars)
7. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 32 stars)
8. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
9. Black Comedy (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 29 stars)
10. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
11. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
12. Full Female Frontal Nudity (Yes, Bush!) (collaborative: moderated by iceblox - 26 stars)
13. AAA: Empire's five star movies (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 25 stars)
14. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
15. Academy Award - Oscar - ALL Best Picture, Directing, Acting & Screenplay Nominees (collaborative - 22 stars)
16. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
17. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
18. Best of criticker: Drama (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 18 stars)
19. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)
20. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 16 stars)
21. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)
22. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 14 stars)
23. Cinema Discusso Yearly Consensus (2008) (public: PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)
24. Sight and Sound 2002 (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 9 stars)
25. The Village Voice: 150 Groundbreaking Films (public: kevinjoseph - 9 stars)
26. Best Foreign Film Oscar Nominees (collaborative: moderated by snallygaster - 8 stars)
27. David Thomson's 1000 Films (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)
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30. Filmsite.org - Sex in the Movies, An Illustrated History (collaborative: moderated by afx237vi - 5 stars)
31. Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Language Film (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 4 stars)
32. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)
33. Average Percentile >70 (collaborative: moderated by peyrin - 4 stars)
34. Canon Fodder by Paul Schrader ~d~ (public: 5Z5qjRCfM2 - 4 stars)
35. Little People (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 3 stars)
36. Old directors (70+) (collaborative: moderated by von krogh - 3 stars)
37. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray and 4K) (public: PepeCamello - 3 stars)
38. Djross film as art (public: djross - 3 stars)
39. Naked Female Dancing (collaborative - 2 stars)
40. Frame Story / Told in Flashback (collaborative: moderated by Moribunny - 2 stars)
41. Netflix Watch Instantly (public: dgeiser13 - 2 stars)
42. Story within a story (collaborative: moderated by monclivie - 1 star)
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44. allah (x4) bu nasıl sevmek (public: egebasaran - 1 star)
45. Metacosmic and sexorganological cinema (public: djross - 1 star)
46. Leaving Criterion Channel 6/30/20 (public: owen1218 - 1 star)
47. The Greatest Movies of All Time - Filmweb's Alternative Top 500 (public: Hadleyreis - 1 star)
48. Filmin (public: Hadleyreis - 1 star)
49. Multiple actors playing the same character (collaborative: moderated by whatismyname)
50. Gratuitous Female Dressing/Undressing Scene (collaborative)
51. Grande Bourgeoisie (collaborative: moderated by Veterini)
52. Referenced in Zeroville (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)
53. Djross 1977 top ten (public: djross)
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55. 1977: Year in Review (public: polanski28)
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61. Djross French feature films I've seen (public: djross)
62. Djross top 300 movies (2023 edition) (public: djross)
Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
5 | ![]() |
djross | 82 93rd |
The best surrealism seems firstly to be disjointed or unreal, but then, through some mysterious alchemy, generates uncanny effects. Interpretations of this film seem to miss this crucial element. Buñuel: "I don't enjoy rummaging around in the cliches of psychoanalysis." "In addition to the theme of the impossibility of ever truly possessing a woman's body, the film insists upon maintaining that climate of insecurity and imminent disaster—an atmosphere we all recognize, because it is our own."
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Pickpocket | 8 82nd |
This movie is good but at the same time frustrating as shit because apparently women are crazy as hell and I don't understand them. The plot of this is absurd and everything that unfolds makes zero sense. Yet, I found myself intrigued by nearly everything. I even yelled at the TV a few times. The way the story was told could've been better, having a dude sit on a train and tell his life story is pretty lame. The 2 actress gimmick was good because I got to see 2 pairs of titties you feel me
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monclivie | 95 99th |
I will never understand why the fuck he didn't kill that bitch. I will never understand women. I will never understand love and desire. But I don't care. I want to be exploited. Just a little bit.
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CinematicESP | 80 50th |
The fruitless pursuit of the titular "object" becomes more and more maddening, not because it is unfulfilled, but because Mathieu can never "have" Conchita because she refuses to be objectified, and he fails to realize this. The absurdity of Buñuel's final film is subtle, but satisfying.
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PeaceAnarchy | 81 64th |
A solid, enjoyable Buñuel film. The acting is very effective and the touch of absurdity that permeates the film makes for a very fun experience. The commentary on desire and control is well executed and provides some interesting things to think about, especially given the ending.
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KasperL | 75 77th |
Buñuel knows how to craft a movie, and it's a decent tale. But I submit that it would have been at least as effective with only one actress in the female lead role.
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Bagger | 60 29th |
I'm probably stunted by a lack of knowledge of Bunuels movies here. But I just can't get over the fact that he makes France unenticing and Spain unsexy. The dynamic between the lead and the girl is well-played but much of the surrounding movie falls flat.
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Yiannos | 78 89th |
Dating framing device aside, Bunuel's final film is a splendid summation of his main thematic preoccupations related to class, sex and desire.
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Average Percentile 72.66% from 1097 Ratings | ![]() |