That Obscure Object of Desire might be most remembered today because of a production problem that ended up working in its favor. Luis Buñuel had originally cast Maria Schneider as Conchita, but the two reportedly didn’t get along—creative disagreements, tension on set—and she was eventually fired. Instead of finding one replacement, Buñuel made a strange but brilliant decision: he cast two actresses, Carole Bouquet and Ángela Molina, to play the same character. They take turns playing the role, and the film never acknowledges it.
That might sound confusing, but it works better than you’d expect. The story follows a man obsessed with a younger woman—he wants her, chases her, but she keeps pushing him away while still giving him just enough hope to keep him coming back. Using two actresses kind of shows what’s really going on: he doesn’t care who she actually is, just what she represents to him. And the best part is that it’s subtle. The two women look completely different, but I didn’t notice it right away. Something felt off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it—and that actually adds to the feeling that we’re seeing her through his confused, obsessive perspective.
That idea gives the film something extra. But once you take that away, I’m not sure the movie holds up that well. Watching it now, almost 50 years later, it’s hard not to see the main character as just a rich, older man who refuses to take no for an answer. He comes off not just as obsessive, but also kind of clueless. The film is also really repetitive—she teases, he begs, she pulls away, repeat—and that gets frustrating fast. There’s also a terrorism subplot that bookends the film, but it never really connects with the rest in the way the director probably intended.
Luis Buñuel’s final film plays with desire and identity, but nearly 50 years later, it feels more creepy than clever—and more dated than daring. In the end, I didn’t feel the main character’s frustration—I just saw a man who was hard to connect with, mostly because he couldn’t read the room. He keeps trying to control someone who clearly doesn’t want him. The concept is still smart, and the way Buñuel plays with identity works, but the rest hasn’t aged that well.