Movie, 1972

Surreal satire addressing many societal aspects, most notably inequality and class. The various scattered elements – terrorism, martial law, diplomacy, etc – are played out against the backdrop of three couples trying to get together and share a meal. A film which feels of its time and still, somehow, fresh – the army manoeuvres and theatre scenes recall Monty Python, though the latter, in particular, feel disconcerting. For a surreal film which dots these items about without really developing them, the flow of the film is very good – the humour and foiled attempts of the main characters to get together for dinner push things along nicely, and frame what is a very enjoyable film.