The Milky Way ends like a documentary would – with the following sentences: Everything in this film concerning the Catholic religion and the heresies it has provoked, especially from the dogmatic point of view, is rigorously exact. The texts and citations are taken either direct from Scripture, or modern and ancient works on theology and ecclesiastical history. This perfectly explains what its topic is. Having been raised a Jesuit, Luis Buñuel developed an obsession with religion, which he incorporated in his movies. His negative portrayal of the aforementioned caused most of his movies to be found extremely offensive, and some were even banned. The Milky Way is one of these controversial movies.
The story is not easily summarised, since this is a surrealist movie – some scenes seem to be randomly inserted into it to break its continuity. Mostly, it follows Pierre (Paul Frankeur) and Jean (Laurent Terzief) on their pilgrimage from France to Santiago de Compostela. While on the road, these two men encounter many people of different time periods in history, beg for food and look for someone to take them to Spain for free.
While the movie is very objective in its portrayal of Christianity through history, its goal is to criticise it, especially the Church and its members. However, it is not anti-religious – it is more of a satiric view of the many pointless theological fights throughout history, and of certain Christian principles. It should be seen by atheists and believers alike, and it will likely, due to its subject, polarize its audience: ones may love it and the others might hate it. In spite of that, the important thing is to realise that even the neutral facts are easily used as arguments against religion. Therefore, I think one of the movie's messages is that we should at least question the opportunity of culturally imposing religion in everyday life. But this review shouldn't turn into a discussion about the basis of religion, especially because there is so much more that can be said about The Milky Way. Although it occasionally seems messy and unclear, since it is, along with Le fantôme de la liberté aka The Phantom of Liberty (1974), one of Buñuel's most surreal movies, these characteristics make it even more enjoyable.
Perhaps absurdly, the movie feels very real, since there is no soundtrack and the characters behave naturally in a common environment, although there are some strange scenes, like for example a person being in and outside a room at the same time. This unusual combination of realistic and unrealistic segments gives the movie a vibe of likable uncertainty. The cinematography is guaranteed to impress you, particularly if you've never seen a surrealistic movie before: as I said, the bizarre dream-like situations are quite enjoyable and funny, and the symbolism in certain scenes is simply superb. Because of its frequent use of the fore-mentioned symbolism, The Milky Way is complex and can be interpreted in many ways. It is very difficult to praise this movie without spoiling it, considering it works really well as a whole and as many independent stories linked by Pierre and Jean's pilgrimage, and each story needs to be summarised to be understood. So just watch it, it's worthy of your time.
Rating: 9/10 Read more at: passpopcorn.wordpress.com
The story is not easily summarised, since this is a surrealist movie – some scenes seem to be randomly inserted into it to break its continuity. Mostly, it follows Pierre (Paul Frankeur) and Jean (Laurent Terzief) on their pilgrimage from France to Santiago de Compostela. While on the road, these two men encounter many people of different time periods in history, beg for food and look for someone to take them to Spain for free.
While the movie is very objective in its portrayal of Christianity through history, its goal is to criticise it, especially the Church and its members. However, it is not anti-religious – it is more of a satiric view of the many pointless theological fights throughout history, and of certain Christian principles. It should be seen by atheists and believers alike, and it will likely, due to its subject, polarize its audience: ones may love it and the others might hate it. In spite of that, the important thing is to realise that even the neutral facts are easily used as arguments against religion. Therefore, I think one of the movie's messages is that we should at least question the opportunity of culturally imposing religion in everyday life. But this review shouldn't turn into a discussion about the basis of religion, especially because there is so much more that can be said about The Milky Way. Although it occasionally seems messy and unclear, since it is, along with Le fantôme de la liberté aka The Phantom of Liberty (1974), one of Buñuel's most surreal movies, these characteristics make it even more enjoyable.
Perhaps absurdly, the movie feels very real, since there is no soundtrack and the characters behave naturally in a common environment, although there are some strange scenes, like for example a person being in and outside a room at the same time. This unusual combination of realistic and unrealistic segments gives the movie a vibe of likable uncertainty. The cinematography is guaranteed to impress you, particularly if you've never seen a surrealistic movie before: as I said, the bizarre dream-like situations are quite enjoyable and funny, and the symbolism in certain scenes is simply superb. Because of its frequent use of the fore-mentioned symbolism, The Milky Way is complex and can be interpreted in many ways. It is very difficult to praise this movie without spoiling it, considering it works really well as a whole and as many independent stories linked by Pierre and Jean's pilgrimage, and each story needs to be summarised to be understood. So just watch it, it's worthy of your time.
Rating: 9/10 Read more at: passpopcorn.wordpress.com