---
title: "L'Âge d'or"
year: 1930
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/lage-dor"
fi1m_id: "lage-dor"
imdb_id: "tt0021577"
tmdb_id: 5729
wikidata_id: "Q946849"
fi1m_score: 74
critics_reviews: 2
published: "2026-09-25T00:31:15.024643+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-25T00:31:20.599453+00:00"
region: "CL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# L'Âge d'or (1930)

Directed by Luis Buñuel · 1h 03m · Romance, Comedy, Drama

## Identity

L'Âge d'or

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/lage-dor
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** lage-dor
- **IMDb ID:** tt0021577
- **TMDB ID:** 5729
- **Wikidata ID:** Q946849
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021577/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/5729, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q946849

**Fi1m score: 74** · Critics: 2 of 6 reviews so far

*In a sentence:* A romance with remarkably little patience for respectable people

> Luis Buñuel’s *L’Âge d’or* is funny, abrasive and uneven in its attacks on sexual morality and religion. We recommend it for the sly jokes, with a caveat about the more laboured provocations.

## Synopsis

The Man (Gaston Modot) and The Woman (Lya Lys) are the central pair in Luis Buñuel’s *L’Âge d’or*. The other figures include the Bandit Leader in the Hut (Max Ernst), the Governor (Josep Llorens Artigas) and the Marquise of X (Germaine Noizet). Sexual morality, religion and middle-class respectability come under scrutiny in a story that brings romance together with comedy and drama. The screenplay is credited to Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, with a cast of characters identified chiefly by their roles or social standing.

## Review

Luis Buñuel’s *L’Âge d’or* is a good, uneven comedy about the trouble respectable people have with sexual desire. It attacks religion and middle-class morality with an impatience that can be funny, although forcefulness is sometimes mistaken for a sufficient joke. We recommend it for its quieter humour and its startling images, without pretending that every provocation still works. Its willingness to be unpleasant is part of what makes it worth seeing.

Gaston Modot plays The Man and Lya Lys plays The Woman, a central pairing stripped even of personal names. That anonymity suits a film concerned with the rules imposed on desire, though it also limits the warmth we might expect from a romance. The cast includes a Governor, played by Josep Llorens Artigas, and a Marquise of X, played by Germaine Noizet. Their titles establish social standing before we have learnt anything else about the people holding them.

The screenplay is credited to Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, and its humour is stronger when it gives indignation less room. We laughed at the quieter jokes, which make middle-class disapproval seem foolish without needing to shout it down. The broader attacks on sexual morality are less consistently amusing. They can insist so hard on their own daring that we begin to notice the effort more than the joke.

Albert Duverger’s cinematography gives the film much of its ability to startle, and the pictures often make the humour feel sharper. Alexandre Trauner’s production design supports the social distinctions embodied by the Governor and the Marquise of X. Both contributions help keep the satire attached to people and their privileges, rather than letting it become a lecture about freedom. The visual surprises remain effective even when we have guessed where a joke is heading.

Luis Buñuel also edits, and the variation between subtle humour and open provocation gives the film an uneven rhythm. Some passages allow a welcome pause to appreciate the absurdity, while others push their point harder than necessary. The music credits are shared by Luis Buñuel and Georges Van Parys, but it is the imagery that supplies the strongest impression. There is enough variety to sustain curiosity, even when an individual joke falls flat.

The religious attacks remain more unsettling than some of the complaints about sexual restraint. They ask us to examine the authority behind the rules, which is more interesting than simply treating the rules as an inconvenience. As a romance, the film offers little reassurance, and that suits its hostility to approved behaviour. As a comedy, it still has to earn each laugh, and a few of its louder provocations struggle to do so.

At 63 minutes, *L’Âge d’or* does not demand a long evening, though its abrasive manner makes it feel less slight than that running time suggests. Its strengths are sufficient to recommend it without pretending that age has made every joke wiser. We would choose it for company willing to argue about where the humour stops working. Anyone hoping for an affectionate romance should choose something else.

*Fi1m score 74, published 25 September 2026.*

## Straight answers

**How long is L'Âge d'or, and what is it rated?**

*L'Âge d'or* runs 1h 03m. It is a romance and comedy film.

**Where can I watch L'Âge d'or in Chile?**

*L'Âge d'or* is not on any streaming or rental service in Chile at the moment. It is available in 3 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

### Reviews we read (2)

- **Sight and Sound** (85/100, inferred): The piece presents Buñuel’s film as a gleefully subversive, enduringly provocative work. It especially praises its startling imagery and attacks on the church and middle classes. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/c823b341-e66a-536b-8a5d-ce639e8a041e/lage-dor)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (35/100, inferred): The review finds Buñuel’s attacks on sexual morality dated and laugh-provoking, while judging the religious provocations still forceful. It praises several moments of humor, especially the subtler ones, as effective. [Read](https://variety.com/1929/film/reviews/l-age-d-or-1200410315/)

## Details

- **Director:** Luis Buñuel
- **Director:** Luis Buñuel
- **Screenplay:** Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí
- **Novel:** Marquis de Sade
- **Cinematography:** Albert Duverger
- **Editor:** Luis Buñuel
- **Music:** Luis Buñuel, Georges Van Parys
- **Production design:** Alexandre Trauner
- **Producer:** Le Vicomte de Noailles, Marie-Laure de Noailles
- **Cast:** Gaston Modot as The Man; Lya Lys as The Woman; Caridad de Laberdesque as Marquise' Chambermaid / Girl at Blangis' Castle; Max Ernst as Bandit Leader in the Hut; Josep Llorens Artigas as Governor; Lionel Salem as Duke of Blangis; Germaine Noizet as Marquise of X; Duchange as Orchestra Conductor
- **Runtime:** 1h 03m
- **First release (France):** 28 November 1930
- **Genres:** Romance, Comedy, Drama
- **Box office:** $7,940

## Where to watch in Chile

Not streaming, renting or buying in Chile at the last check.

Also available in: CA, IT, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Daisies* (1966): Two young women make waste, appetite and bad behaviour into unruly comedy.
- *The Exterminating Angel* (1962): Another gathering of respectable people discovers how little their manners can accomplish.
- *Tampopo* (1985): Food and desire encourage a similarly unruly approach to telling a story.
- *The Lobster* (2015), Fi1m 78: Courtship becomes compulsory, and the rules are every bit as absurd. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lobster.md)
- *A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence* (2014): Deadpan encounters expose everyday cruelty without asking anyone to raise their voice.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/lage-dor