A surrealist exercise from Luis Buñuel that begins in 1808, with French troops occupying a church in Toledo. That scene leads to a contemporary meeting between a man and two girls in a Parisian park, and on it goes; there’s always a detail or character that takes us to the next episode.

The director was fascinated with how coincidences lead us onto different paths. As always, dreams and personal memories play a great part and there are plenty of delightfully absurd moments.

Admired by many, but its loose structure is not always a strength.

1974-France-Italy. 104 min. Color. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Screenplay: Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière. Cast: Adriana Asti (The lady in black/The Prefect of Police’s sister), Julien Bertheau (The first Prefect of Police), Jean-Claude Brialy (Mr. Foucauld), Adolfo Celi, Paul Frankeur, Michael Lonsdale, Michel Piccoli, Jean Rochefort, Monica Vitti. 

Trivia: Original title: Le fantôme de la liberté.