Le fantôme de la liberté is truly a unique film. That, of course, is one of Buñuel's many gifts to the development of film grammar. Because of his innovations, he has often been copied. However, a copy is rarely, if ever, as striking as the original. In this film, he plays with more boundaries and tests our perceptions and assumptions about what is and is not proper, including the way stories are told. By linking many different scenes, characters, and short episodes together in different ways, he pokes fun at our traditions, culture, and taboos. He weaves situations together through dream-logic. Sometimes one story will be within another, and other times a character from one story meets one from another, and the camera abandons the previous story for the next. There is, to be sure, a larger story and message presented. For example, the first episode shows an execution in 1808, and the last shows a present-day riot where people are shot. There is a question being asked by comparing these two episodes. How much progress have we made over the centuries? Beyond the important points being made in this film, it is highly entertaining, funny, and aesthetic. Part of what is amusing about it is that I found myself laughing at myself after expecting something specific and finding that I was making assumptions based on my stereotypical thinking. Also, the way he strips characters down, making them all too human, is hilarious. One example of this is the scene in which the monks are gambling, smoking, and drinking. This also points out the hypocrisy of religion. I recommend this film to everyone because in it Buñuel and Carrière break up the routine film formula and simultaneously entertain the audience.