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Pornography in a client's lacquer box
Opal 2022-04-23 07:03:20
There is one scene in the film that is most famous and is mentioned again and again by everyone who has seen it; but in this scene we actually see nothing and understand nothing. A client brought a small lacquer box, and he opened the lid to show the contents of the box to the other prostitute first, and then to Severina. As spectators, we never knew what was in the box, only a gentle humming sound came from the box. The first prostitute refuses to fulfill the client's mysterious request. Severina also refused, but then the scene cuts very ambiguous, and the ensuing scene suggests that something may have happened to us. What's in the box? The literal truth doesn't matter, it's the symbolic truth, that the box contains something extremely erotic for the client; that truth is what Buñuel is concerned with.
Extended Reading
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Monsieur Adolphe: [singing] I like ham and sausage, I like ham when it's good, But I like even more a nice pair of thighs.
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Monsieur Adolphe: It wasn't cold enough. Champagne over 46 degrees taste like tea.
Madame Anais: Sorry. If I'd known, I'd have put it in the fridge.
Monsieur Adolphe: You knew I was coming.
Madame Anais: But not that Belle de jour was.
Monsieur Adolphe: [toast] To the person I care most about - - me!
Madame Anais: And to Belle de jour.