THE MILKY WAY ****

Two contemporary pilgrims, (Paul Frankeur and Laurent Terzieff), on the road to Santiago de Compostela encounter heretics, agnostics and believers not to mention Jesus and his mother, the Devil and a few other Biblical and historical characters. "The Milky Way" is one of the most irreverent of Bunuel's religious satires but is closer in tone to the scatological surrealism of "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" than to "Viridiana".

It was also a chance for Bunuel to show off one of his all-star casts so we have Alain Cuny tempting our pilgrims on the road, Bernard Verley as Jesus and Edith Scob as the Virgin Mary, Michel Piccoli as the Marquis de Sade, Pierre Clementi as The Devil as well as Julien Bertheau, Georges Marchal and a sprightly Delphine Seyrig as a prostitute. It may not be one of Bunuel's masterpieces, (it's all a bit obvious), but it's clearly the work of a master and is essential viewing for all cinephiles.