This one-evening film series explores identity through spirituality in the films of Spanish director Luis Buñuel, perhaps best-known for his Surrealist explorations with artist Salvador Dalí. Buñuel’s mid-career films presented here grapple with his ambivalence toward religion, a theme that would preoccupy much of his career.

Simon of the Desert (Mexico, 1965, 45 mins.)

Simon, a deeply religious man, shirks the advances of the Devil by retreating to the top of a pillar. But when Simon finds himself lured to a New York City disco, he begins to question his self-righteousness. This satire on religious fanaticism won the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Venice International Film Festival. In Spanish with English subtitles, shown on DVD. Image below.

The Milky Way (Italy/France, 1969, 98 mins.)

Two French pilgrims are met with a series of diversions as they embark on a journey to the holy city of Santiago de Compostela in this comedic stab at religion and faith. The film is the first in what Bunuel would later refer to as a trilogy of “comically surreal satires.” Co-written by Bunuel and Jean-Claude Carriere, the film won an interfilm award at the 1969 Berlin International Film Festival. In French with English subtitles, shown on DVD.