Viridiana (1961)

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Julio Alejandro (writer)
Luis Buñuel (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 March 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Viridiana, a young nun about to take her final vows, pays a visit to her widowed uncle at the request of her Mother Superior. |

Plot Keywords:

Vow | Nun | Mother Superior | Soaking Feet | Spider

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Silvia Pinal	...	Viridiana
Francisco Rabal	...	Jorge
Fernando Rey	...	Don Jaime
José Calvo	...	Beggar (as Jose Calvo)
Margarita Lozano	...	Ramona
José Manuel Martín	...	Beggar
Victoria Zinny	...	Lucia
Luis Heredia	...	Beggar
Joaquín Roa	...	Beggar
Lola Gaos	...	Beggar
María Isbert	...	Beggar (as Maruja Isbert)
Teresa Rabal	...	Rita (as Teresita Rabal)

Also Known As:

Viridiana (Finland) [fi]
Viridiana (Greece) [el]
Viridiana (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Spain | Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | France:Unrated | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Unión Industrial Cinematográfica (UNINCI)

Trivia:

The script was initially approved by the Spanish authorities with a few minor changes. They had no opportunity to view the finished film until it played at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix. Nevertheless they were sufficiently horrified by what they saw to ban the film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Drowning by Numbers (1988)

Soundtrack:

Hallejujah Chorus

A hymn to human nature

This is a great movie. It is an investigation of the human nature and attempts to tell an interesting story about the suppression of our inner instincts. Bunuel, once again, compares the morality that comes from inside us, i.e., the morality of the subconscious, against the morality which imposed by society and the various religious organizations.

Bunuel seems sacrilegious, but I think that his movie attacks false piety as opposed to the deeper mysteries of the Catholic faith. Viridiana in the movie is not considerate of her uncle's passion for her and that kills the old man. Her punishment comes later from the unworthy beggars. The moral of the story is that we'd better investigate our flaws and strengths before attempting any encounter with other members of the society. Nobody is perfect and there are different ways to help people out there effectively. Honest work is sometimes more effective than useless acts of charity. If we do not know our selves and we cannot understand others we may deeply hurt people we care for.

All these ideas came to my mind while watching "Viridiana". What a great movie it is. One of the great moments of the movie is a side by side viewing of the honest workers renovating the mansion and the unworthy beggars praying in the fields.