An aristocrat named Nobilé invites several society friends to his house after the opera. But even as the dinner preparations are underway, servants feel compelled to leave. Despite threats of dismissal, the footman also leaves, and, as the guests arrive other servants escape. Dinner is served and hours pass, but the guests do not leave. Finally, each refusing to be the first to leave the party, distrust sets in, and the guests turn on their host, blaming him for their self-induced captivity.
One of Bunuel’s most sardonically humorous and visually dazzling of movies, Exterminating Angel reveals itself as a screenplay to be also a linguistically brilliant satire of social aspirations. This 1962 film presents in self in script form as a great work of literature.