Viridiana is but days away from taking her final vows to become a sister in a convent. The Mother Superior informs her that her uncle whom she has met but once, but who has paid for her education and to whom she is deeply indebted to, is dying and she is ordered to visit him before she marries herself to God. Her uncle, Don Jaime, lives in a lonely old manner with two servants and a their child. They all seem genial enough, but slowly Viridiana begins to see the underlying motivations of Don Jaime as he tries to extend her visit. Hung above a fireplace is the portrait of his late wife who bears a striking resemblance to his niece. Grief at her death brought him to the life of a recluse, shut up in his grand home with nothing more to do than tend to the cows, play his organ, and listen to his record of Handel's "Messiah." But when the nun enters his home she brings a new vitality to the rotting corpse of his mansion, and the memory of his wife drives him towards Viridiana with a lustful passion that is horrific and macabre, but also pitiable.
Events transpire, which I will not reveal, that bring Viridiana to question her faith, turn from the convent, and seek God in her own way. The second half of the film follows her as she decides to bring a group of paupers in to the mansion to feed and house and generally tend to, in exchange for menial labor in accordance to whatever their handicaps may be. At the same time Don Jaime's son, Jorge, comes to tend to the vast expanse of land that has gone neglected for a great deal of time. Flickers of passion soon arise--like father, like son. Sins of the flesh run deep in this family, and they seem to have a way of stretching out their fingers and ensnaring others around them.
Viridiana does her best to care for everyone in the house. She cannot lie, is "rotten with piety," and shows unending warmth and compassion to those that even the destitute would spit on. But for all of her love that she spreads, it all goes for naught. Carnal desires and the black spot in the hearts of men lead to a heartbreaking and infuriating climax at a dinner party that slaps God and all that he teaches in the face. The end is ambiguous--both hopeful, but strangely unsettling in its sexual energy.
It does not surprise me that both the nation of Spain and the Vatican denounced this film. Master Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel spent his early life getting a strict Jesuit education which accounts for both the religious themes and imagery in his films as well as the morally depraved approach he takes when examining his material. This film is a venomous look at the results of leading a pious life and raises very troubling questions surrounding the topic of free will versus divine intervention. A person leading a devout life could immediately be offended and deeply troubled by seeing such a film as it makes very little effort to disguise its disdain for such a lifestyle.
That said, although it does not agree with Viridiana's choices or path in life, Bunuel does still seem to have a very deep respect for the power that religion has over its followers, and he does seem to have an appreciation for the poetic nature of religious observances. This movie is both upsetting and oddly beautiful in its dark--and at times even morbid--artistry. It affected me very deeply, and I feel that it is a film that once watched will not soon be forgotten.
I realize now that I have not discussed any of the other components to the film--acting, writing, editing, and so forth. It does not matter, they are irrelevant. This is the type of film where everything else after the director's vision need only be competent enough to carry the vision, simply because the prowess of the director is so great. Bunuel's story is so intriguing, and is outlook so bleak and strong, that it completely overshadows the work that the actors do with the material. The writing, though also by Bunuel, is not particularly impressive, but that is also upon further reflection. In many respects I suppose Bunuel is a lot like Stanley Kubrick in that when all of the components come together and a final product is reached it is never Tom Cruise's or Jack Nicholson's or Kirk Douglas' movie. It is Kubrick's, and Kubrick is the first name that you talk of afterwards. Bunuel will be the only person that I remember from Viridiana which I think is a mighty fine complement.
4/4
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