← That Obscure Object of Desire
That Obscure Object of Desire poster

That Obscure Object of Desire · reception & legacy

1977 · Luis Buñuel

How That Obscure Object of Desire has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

Hailed on release as a triumphant swan song for the 77-year-old Buñuel (it picked up two Oscar nominations), and its reputation has never really dipped — though the two-actresses device, sometimes shrugged off at the time as a stunt born of necessity, is now treated as the whole point of the movie.

What's debated

Fans still argue over the casting switch — is there a hidden logic to when Carole Bouquet becomes Ángela Molina and back, or is the joke that the man (and the viewer) barely notices?

Its footprint

The one-role-two-actresses gambit is the film's calling card, endlessly cited whenever a filmmaker splits a character across performers — and 'did you clock the switch?' remains a classic first-viewing rite of passage among cinephiles.

Where it stands

Untouchable late-canon Buñuel — the closing panel of his great final French run with The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Phantom of Liberty, and a fixture of 'greatest final films' lists.

★ Did you know? The double casting was an accident of production: Maria Schneider was originally cast as Conchita and left early in the shoot, and Buñuel's half-joking suggestion to replace her with two different actresses — Carole Bouquet and Ángela Molina, swapping mid-scene — was taken up by producer Serge Silberman and became the film's defining idea.