Viridiana

By 1961, Luis Buñuel had long since outgrown the surrealist cinema that had made him an instant success starting with his collaboration with Salvador Dali on 1929's Un Chien Andalou. What Buñuel hadn't given up was a lifelong obsession with religion. Brought up in the Catholic faith but a self-avowed atheist all his adult life, Buñuel infused all his films with a subversive nature, both chastizing and satirizing Catholicism. Viridiana (1961) was Buñuel's very brief triumphant return to Spain, but marked his not-so-brief triumphant return to the world cinema scene. By 1940, he had dropped out of moviemaking entirely, working in exile in the United States as chief writing editor at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Immigrating to Mexico in the late 1940s, Buñuel returned to cinema, but toiled in obscurity with low budget films for over a decade. In an attempt to promote Spanish cultural heritage, Spain's dictator Francisco Franco invited Buñuel back to his homeland to make films. Buñuel had not set foot on Spanish soil for 22 years. Only one film ever emerged from this bizarre collaboration, but it would be the beginning of Buñuel's greatest artistic period that would confirm him as one of the most important directors in the world. That film was Viridiana.

Viridiana, pure and simple, is a powerful and extended exploration of the overwhelming cruelty of the world and the inability of religion, particularly Catholicism, to affect any significant change. The story follows the titular character, who on the eve of taking her monastic vows, is called away to visit her dying uncle at his estate. Here Viridiana, an obvious metaphor for the Virgin Mary, enters into a maelstrom of spiritual, emotional, and physical violence, beset on all sides by the evil of men.

After enduring emotional trauma at the hands of her sexually deviant uncle Don Jaime, Viridiana relinquishes her position as acolyte. When Jaime dies, Viridiana entertains a brief hope that her troubles may be over. But Jaime is only replaced by his cruel and misogynistic son Jorge. Viridiana retreats into her work, establishing a home for 12 beggars that she rounds up in town. With her band of merry beggars, Viridiana is transformed from Mary into Jesus, shepherding her apostles (there is even a very un-subtle "last supper" scene). But as a final insult, Viridiana's beggars turn upon her and repay her kindness with destruction and violence.

On a technical level, Viridiana is excellently crafted. Cinematographer Jose Aguayo makes great use of light and shadow, drawing attention to the contrast between characters. The black and white film is crisp, never blurred or softened. Buñuel and Aguayo team up with Aurelio Tijeras in the sound department to create a film that is devastatingly bleak, with mocking undertones of false piety.

Viridiana is Buñuel's scathing commentary on the nature of religious charity. The title character, an ex-nun trying to do right in a world full of evil, ultimately has no effect on her sexually perverted uncle, her brutal and sexist cousin, or the violently ungrateful band of beggars she adopts. In the end, she numbly succumbs to the cruel world, realizing her efforts have been and will always be fruitless. No wonder this film was banned in its native Spain and summarily denounced by the Vatican.

Storyline & plot: 7/10
Cinematography & effects: 8/10
Music & mood: 7/10
Performances: 7/10

The Reverend says: 7/10