Viridiana (1961)
Director: Luis Buñuel
Starring: Silvia Pinal, Fernando Rey
Country: Spain
After some odd twenty years, Spanish born director Luis Buñuel, who at the time had been having a long and successful career directing films in Mexico, was invited to Spain to direct a film of his choice, which resulted in Viridiana. Like a lot of Buñuel’s work, the film took aim at both the bourgeoisie and the Catholic church, and was filled with Buñuel’s brand of black humor. To no one’s surprise, Franco was outraged by the film and went on to have the film banned on the grounds of blasphemy and indecency. However, the film was very well received outside of Spain and even went on to receive the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. One is left to wonder why Franco would ever invite someone of Buñuel’s reputation and give him free reign to direct a movie in the first place, since Spain’s government was notorious for being ‘morally conservative.’
The film centers around a young nun named Viridiana played by Silvia Pinal, who’s convinced by her mother superior to visit her wealthy uncle Don Jaime played by Fernando Rey. Viridiana doesn’t seem to be very fond of her uncle, but out of respect for her mother superior, she decides to visit him. Viridiana is given a warm welcome by her uncle who quickly points out how much she looks like his deceased wife. Don Jaime begins to have feelings for his niece and from this point on, things begin to get ‘complicated.’
The fact that this movie was labeled as obscene by Franco’s Spain speaks more about that country’s attitudes than about the film itself. The movie implies a whole lot more than it shows, and doesn’t contain any graphic sexuality or nudity for that matter. With that being said, it is obvious to see why the movie was controversial at the time of its release, and in my opinion the film still maintains an edge. A lot has been made about the film’s attack on Catholicism and Catholic imagery. However, I see the film first and foremost as an attack on the Spanish upperclass. Don Jaime, in many ways, is a stand in for the well to do Spanish gentleman. He’s wealthy, he appears as a respectable and moral man in the eyes of others, and he’s charming and educated, but his intentions are not what they might seem. This character allowed Buñuel to show that the well to do Spanish members of the bourgeoisie were not always the moral pillars that they made themselves out to be. The criticism here isn’t completely about the flaws of the Spanish bourgeois, but about the hypocrisy that existed in Fascist Spain. Franco’s Spain was trying to achieve an idealistic sense of purity that exists more in theory than in reality.
The film’s reputation as an attack on the Catholic church, however, isn’t without reason. This film contains one of Buñuel’s most infamous scene in which he pokes fun on one the most well known religious portraits. The film’s protagonist is also nun, which inevitably leads to several implications related to Catholicism.
I am a big fan of Buñuel’s work, which has obviously had an effect on my opinion of the film. With that being said, I will have to say this movie stands as one of Buñuel’s best films. The film contains good examples of Buñuel's brand of humor and just plain weirdness. However, the film has a well defined plot which works on several levels. I also think that this film is one of the most important films to come out of Buñuel’s long and varied career. Like a lot of Spaniards who left the country during Franco’s rise to power, Buñuel was very anti-fascist and critical of the direction that his country had taken. For whatever reason, Buñuel was given the opportunity to return to his country and criticize the Pro-Franco Spanish upper class on their own home turf. This movie then seems to have served as an exorcism of sorts for Buñuel. Also, the mere fact that Buñuel was invited back probably shows that he was is still able to maintain some relevance in Spain even during the Franco era.
Starring: Silvia Pinal, Fernando Rey
Country: Spain
After some odd twenty years, Spanish born director Luis Buñuel, who at the time had been having a long and successful career directing films in Mexico, was invited to Spain to direct a film of his choice, which resulted in Viridiana. Like a lot of Buñuel’s work, the film took aim at both the bourgeoisie and the Catholic church, and was filled with Buñuel’s brand of black humor. To no one’s surprise, Franco was outraged by the film and went on to have the film banned on the grounds of blasphemy and indecency. However, the film was very well received outside of Spain and even went on to receive the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. One is left to wonder why Franco would ever invite someone of Buñuel’s reputation and give him free reign to direct a movie in the first place, since Spain’s government was notorious for being ‘morally conservative.’
The film centers around a young nun named Viridiana played by Silvia Pinal, who’s convinced by her mother superior to visit her wealthy uncle Don Jaime played by Fernando Rey. Viridiana doesn’t seem to be very fond of her uncle, but out of respect for her mother superior, she decides to visit him. Viridiana is given a warm welcome by her uncle who quickly points out how much she looks like his deceased wife. Don Jaime begins to have feelings for his niece and from this point on, things begin to get ‘complicated.’
The fact that this movie was labeled as obscene by Franco’s Spain speaks more about that country’s attitudes than about the film itself. The movie implies a whole lot more than it shows, and doesn’t contain any graphic sexuality or nudity for that matter. With that being said, it is obvious to see why the movie was controversial at the time of its release, and in my opinion the film still maintains an edge. A lot has been made about the film’s attack on Catholicism and Catholic imagery. However, I see the film first and foremost as an attack on the Spanish upperclass. Don Jaime, in many ways, is a stand in for the well to do Spanish gentleman. He’s wealthy, he appears as a respectable and moral man in the eyes of others, and he’s charming and educated, but his intentions are not what they might seem. This character allowed Buñuel to show that the well to do Spanish members of the bourgeoisie were not always the moral pillars that they made themselves out to be. The criticism here isn’t completely about the flaws of the Spanish bourgeois, but about the hypocrisy that existed in Fascist Spain. Franco’s Spain was trying to achieve an idealistic sense of purity that exists more in theory than in reality.
The film’s reputation as an attack on the Catholic church, however, isn’t without reason. This film contains one of Buñuel’s most infamous scene in which he pokes fun on one the most well known religious portraits. The film’s protagonist is also nun, which inevitably leads to several implications related to Catholicism.
I am a big fan of Buñuel’s work, which has obviously had an effect on my opinion of the film. With that being said, I will have to say this movie stands as one of Buñuel’s best films. The film contains good examples of Buñuel's brand of humor and just plain weirdness. However, the film has a well defined plot which works on several levels. I also think that this film is one of the most important films to come out of Buñuel’s long and varied career. Like a lot of Spaniards who left the country during Franco’s rise to power, Buñuel was very anti-fascist and critical of the direction that his country had taken. For whatever reason, Buñuel was given the opportunity to return to his country and criticize the Pro-Franco Spanish upper class on their own home turf. This movie then seems to have served as an exorcism of sorts for Buñuel. Also, the mere fact that Buñuel was invited back probably shows that he was is still able to maintain some relevance in Spain even during the Franco era.