The Milky Way

The first film in what director Luis Buñuel later proclaimed to be a trilogy about "the search for truth" (along with The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Phantom of Liberty), 1969's The Milky Way is one of the legendary surrealist's most characteristic later-career efforts, containing a virtual laundry-list of established themes and provocative motifs. In collaboration with celebrated screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, Buñuel set out to make "a history of heresy" in the Catholic Church, but of course in Buñuel's hands, history is anything but a chronology of facts and figures—rather, it's a playfully inventive and typically invigorating tour, chock full of the kind of deliberately provocative images (a crucified nun, the Pope [played by Buñuel] facing a firing squad) that represent Buñuel's rebellion against his religious upbringing towards the liberating artistry of the French surrealists of the 1920s and '30s. The Milky Way begins with the pilgrimage of two contemporary French vagabonds from France to the Spanish holy city of Santiago de Compostela. Although their journey initially seems routine, before long the pair are jumping through time and space, encountering a wide variety of characters from Palestine to medieval Europe, moving through present-day France and Spain to the Age of Reason and back, presenting a cavalcade of scenes that call religious beliefs into question. Not surprisingly, The Milky Way is a disjointed film that eschews conventional narrative (it was filmed during France's student uprisings of May 1968, and retains much of that period's rebellious spirit), but one that will reward patient viewers with its sly humor and delicious ambiguity. Criterion's typically superb DVD presentation features a new high-definition transfer of the film, and a handful of extras, including a video introduction by Carrière; a half-hour documentary titled 'Buñuel: An Atheist Thanks to God,' featuring several of Buñuel's close friends and collaborators; and a booklet with essays by Carlos Fuentes and Mark Polizzotti. Recommended. (J. Shannon) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—July 30, 2019—Kino Lorber, 101 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $29.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1969’s The Milky Way features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton, a critical analysis by Professor Peter Evans (32 min.), an interview with writer Jean-Claude Carrière (18 min.), and a booklet with an essay by film critic Adam Nayman. Bottom line: this Buñuel classic sparkles on Blu-ray.]