La Voie lactée (1969) - film review

Two tramps, Pierre and his younger friend Jean, undertake a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, to visit the tomb of Saint James.  Along the way, their faith is tested by an extraordinary range of characters, including Jesus, bizarre priests, the Marquis de Sade and a prostitute.

Often cited as Luis Buñuel’s most overtly religious works, La Voie lactée is certainly one of his most intellectually demanding and shamelessly irreverent.   In common with his later satirical films, Buñuel combines a free-flowing narrative with surreal images and an acute Pythonesque comic slant.  The format works well here because it fits the film’s subject perfectly – the physical journey of the two tramps is interwoven with a spiritual journey which freely dips in and out of religious history as and when the mood takes it.

In contrast to many of Buñuel’s other films, La Voie lactée does not directly attack the Church or religion, but rather argues the necessity for and the absurdity of faith.  It picks up some of the themes from Buñuel’s earlier film, Simón del desierto (1965), which should be watched in conjunction with this film.   Both films contain material which some viewers will find heretical, but both also provide an intelligent and thought-provoking comment on faith and religion.

© James Travers 2002

See also:
The life of Luis Buñuel
Un chien Andalou
L’Age d’or
Viridiana
El Angel exterminador
Belle du jour
Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie
French fantasy films




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