Let's see why, shall we?
The first thing one notices when watching this is the beauty of the art. The scenery is simple, an abandoned town picked up from Dali's memoirs, but extremelly detailed.It remembered me the first works of Disney (vide Fantasia). Then the viewer will notice the characters: this time they shape the story and not otherwise. They are simple but, following the example of the scenery, highly detailed and their symbolic meaning is fascinating.
In this world crowded with symbols, I spent most of the time trying to figure them out. Untill, finally, I decided to quit and just watch. Then the pieces fell nicely and I understood the story which, after all, is very simple. The fact that is scattered through the movie is what makes it somewhat interesting.
Overall, it is a great surreal exercise. A masterpiece, definetely. However, the pace of the movie turns it a painful watching experience for most. It's typical from the old movies of the kind, but still... "I'm glad that it's over"
