“The Diary of a Chambermaid” (1964)
Not to be confused with the Jean Renoir-directed 1946 film of the same name starring Paulette Goddard, “The Diary of a Chambermaid” marked the beginning of Luis Buñuel’s second French period (that also included “Belle de Jour,” “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”). The film stands out amongst Buñuel’s work as a conventional narrative rather than his characteristic surrealism. This adaptation of Octave Mirbeau’s novel also marked the first project with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, with whom Buñuel would work with for the rest of his career. Jeanne Moreau stars as the titular chambermaid, and nabbed the role after meeting Bunuel for lunch, with the director taken by the sway of her ankles (which came in handy for the foot fetish scene). Buñuel once said, “Sexual perversion repulses me, but I can be attracted to it intellectually.” And Buñuel met his match in “The Diary of a Chambermaid.” The film follows Célestine (Moreau) after she moves from Paris to a rural Normandy estate where she works for a family of hypocrites and perverts. This seedier side of the French upper crust includes an avid animal hunter and woman chaser (Michel Piccoli, marking their second of seven collaborations), a haughty and frigid mistress of the house (Françoise Lugagne), and an elderly gentleman who calls on Célestine for his “whims” (which translates to indulging his foot-fetishism). Our heroine is no angel either as she attempts to use her feminine wiles to secure a place above her station while overlooking the possible repercussions of indulging an idle upper class. Transplanting the story from late 1800s to 1930, Buñuel was able to comment on French fascism and extremist politics, blaming the moral decay of the bourgeoisie for the subsequent political demise. The film ends with a political demonstration and protesters shouting “Down with the Republic! Death to the Jews! Long live Chiappe!” The name Chiappe is Buñuel’s revenge against the rightwing civil servant Jean Chiappe, who suppressed Buñuel’s “L’Age D’Or” in 1930. Its flirtation with moral depravity, absurdist satirical touches, and an unflinching Jeanne Moreau make “The Diary of a Chambermaid” a must-see Buñuel film. On a more current note, Marion Cotillard is in talks to star as Célestine in an upcoming Benoit Jacquot-directed adaptation.
“Simon Of The Desert” (1965)
Bunuel’s last film in Mexico, and the final part of the trilogy on religion preceded by “Viridiana” and “The Exterminating Angel,” “Simon of the Desert” might seem slight on the surface — it’s less than 45 minutes long. But you wouldn’t want it to be a second longer as it’s small, perfectly-formed and profound. Based loosely on the Syrian saint Simeon Stylites, the film follows his son, Simon (Claudio Brook) , who’s spent 6 years, 6 weeks and 6 days living up on an eight-foot pillar. He’s brought down to try out a new pillar built for him by the locals; only the first in a series of temptations, mostly brought to him by a female Satan (Bunuel muse Silvia Pinal) that will eventually see him transported to a 1960s nightclub New York. While the film is as skeptical and savage about the Catholic Church, and religion in general, as most of Bunuel’s films of this period (Simon heals an amputee, who then uses his hands to hit his child), in Simon, there’s a holy fool at the center of the film for whom Bunuel shows surprising empathy. It’s a reminder that the director’s issue was never with God, but with the people who act in his name. Stylistically, it’s an austere, ascetic piece of work, marking a shift between his Mexican films and later masterpieces like “The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie,” and while it’s little bit more dry in comparison to his more mischievous works, and perhaps a film for completeists only, it’s still well worth seeking out.
