Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Rome, Nov 23 and 30

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Il fascino discreto della borghesia) by Luis Buñuel at Casa del Cinema, Nov 23 and 30, 2026

In short. «Il fascino discreto della borghesia» (original title «Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie», in English The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) by Luis Buñuel screens on Monday, November 23 and Monday, November 30, 2026 at the Casa del…

Watercolor illustration generated with artificial intelligence

Illustration generated with artificial intelligence: it is not a photograph of Casa del Cinema or of the event.

«Il fascino discreto della borghesia» (original title «Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie», in English The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) by Luis Buñuel screens on Monday, November 23 and Monday, November 30, 2026 at the Casa del Cinema, in Villa Borghese (largo Marcello Mastroianni 1, Rome). The screening is in the original version with Italian subtitles and belongs to the series «Luis Buñuel: lo sguardo tagliente» (“Luis Buñuel: the sharp gaze”). Tickets are sold online.

Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie: watercolor illustration of a movie theater with a projector, musical notes and an audience seen from behind — Illustration generated with artificial intelligence: it is not a photograph of Casa del Cinema or of the event.

Updated October 30, 2026.

Official presentation of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

«Una satira feroce dove l'umorismo nero convive con le parentesi oniriche»
Text from the official Cultura Roma Capitale page (service translation: “A fierce satire where black humor lives alongside dreamlike interludes”), source

The film follows two bourgeois couples who, after closing a drug deal in the imaginary republic of Miranda, try again and again to meet for lunch or dinner. Every social plan, however, falls through for a different reason each time.

The official presentation calls it one of Buñuel's great films and probably the masterpiece of his French period. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie joins memories of the early surrealist works with the taste for irreverent paradox of the Mexican ones, and the director reflects with his usual sharpness on the hypocrisy of social conventions, until reality sinks into the empty labyrinth of meaninglessness.

The film at a glance

The film is a 1972 co-production of France, Italy and Spain and runs 102 minutes. The cast includes Fernando Rey, Paul Frankeur, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier and Stéphane Audran. The screenings are in the original version with Italian subtitles.

The film is part of the series «Luis Buñuel: lo sguardo tagliente», on at the Casa del Cinema from November 1 to 30, 2026 in the Cinecittà and Fellini rooms.

Where to see Discreet Charm: Casa del Cinema

The Casa del Cinema is a space of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma in the park of Villa Borghese. It has a study room open every day and a bar-restaurant, the Cast Cine Bistrot.

The Buñuel series also includes La ilusión viaja en tranvía, Le avventure di Robinson Crusoe, Nazarín and Quell'oscuro oggetto del desiderio. From November 26 to 28 the venue also hosts Scoprir, the Ibero-American Film Showcase.