L'Age d'Or (Ross)

L'Age d'Or

L'Age d'Or is a French surrealist film directed by Luis Buñuel that explores themes like desire and the sexual mores of bourgeois society as well as the religious system of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Themes 

The themes of the film follow the concerns of Un Chien Andalou:

• frustrated love 
• societies oppression of sexuality
• the constancy of physical violence 
• opens up as a documentary 
• ends with snow and blowing wind

Un Chien Andalou follows the same themes, ideology and represent the same beliefs of the original surrealists. An example of this is at the end of the film, there is a crucifix which has hair on it. This scene is the final scene of the film and shows the religious iconology and the surrealists disbelief in religion as a whole.

Another reoccurring theme in both films is violence. In L'Age d'Or at the very beginning of the film there is a close up shot of scorpions, this represents violence as they as known as being dangerous and have the power to kill. Un Chien Andalou also explores this theme, as at the very start of the film there is an eye cutting sequence which is incredibly graphic and vulgar to watch. The surrealists where intrigued by Sigmund Freud and the idea of psychoanalysis. This is where Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, therefore gaining insight.