Noted Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura follows up on his 1999 opus Goya with this wild and woolly reimagining of a 1930s adventure serial from the mind of a surrealist master. The film opens in the present with an aged Luis Buñuel listening to a script pitch about the search for a magical table smuggled from the Ottoman empire to Spain several centuries ago. As the spiel plods on, Buñuel's mind drifts, imagining himself during his prime with his buddies Salvador Dali and Garcia Lorca. The trio search for the missing item of furniture through the winding alleys and sewers of Toledo. Along the way, the actors playing Buñuel, Dali, and Lorca reflect on playing the parts of great artists while engaging in witty banter with one another. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival.
by Jonathan Crow
synopsis
