Voyage-Surprise

Dazzlingly masterminded by Jacques and Pierre Prévert, first generation Surrealists both, this is not only the movie that Buñuel wanted Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie to be, but also one of the most laceratingly funny provocations ever launched in France. A guileless old tour proprietor trumps his new-fangled rival by offering a genuine mystery trip; the takers are a crowd of eccentrics and dropouts from all backgrounds and classes, who find themselves experiencing all their wildest dreams and fears as they follow their truly arbitrary itinerary. Jacques Prévert's effortlessly brilliant dialogue points up the fact that the comedy is founded on benign-but-tough assumptions about eroticism, social attitudes, and revolution. It's an ecstatic experience.