Focus on Luis Buñuel

Viridiana

1 hr. 31 min. | Drama | Pegi 13

Viridiana, a young novice about to take final vows as a nun, accedes, moved purely by a sense of obligation, to a request her widowed uncle to visit him. Stirred by her resemblance to his late wife, he attempts to seduce her and tragedy ensues. In the aftermath, Viridiana tries to assuage her guilt by creating a haven for the destitute folk who live around her uncle‘s estate. But little good comes from these good intentions. This, suggests Buñuel, is what happens to saints - their virtue is thrown back in their faces. People, and the world, cannot be changed, and acceptance of things as they are is the only course. The film was banned in Spain and the Vatican's official organ said it was an insult not just to Catholicism but to Christianity itself.

Languages
Spanish
Subtitles
Lithuanian, English
Original title
Viridiana
Produced
1961: Mexico, Spain