Viridiana
Encyclopedia
Viridiana is a 1961
Spanish
-Mexican
motion picture, directed by Luis Buñuel
and produced by Mexican Gustavo Alatriste
. It is loosely based on Halma, a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós
.
Viridiana was the winner of the Palme d'Or
at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival
.
when her uncle, Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), invites her to visit him. He is her only living relative, but she has only met him once and is reluctant to comply. Her Mother Superior
pressures her into accepting.
Don Jaime is a recluse, living on a neglected farm with only a couple of servants, Ramona (Margarita Lozano
) and Moncho, and Ramona's daughter Rita. When Don Jaime sees his niece, he is struck by her strong resemblance to his deceased wife.
The night before she is to leave, Viridiana, grateful for her uncle's longtime financial support, reluctantly complies with his odd request and puts on his wife's wedding dress. When Ramona informs Viridiana that Don Jaime wants to marry her, she is aghast, and Don Jaime seems to drop the idea. However, Ramona secretly drugs her drink. He carries the unconscious woman to her room with the intention of raping her, but at the last moment decides otherwise.
The next morning, he lies and tells her that he took her virginity, and therefore she cannot go back to her convent. When she is undeterred, he then confesses he lied, leaving her uncertain what happened that night. At the bus stop, the authorities prevent her from leaving. Her uncle has hanged himself, leaving his property to Viridiana and his illegitimate son, Jorge (Francisco Rabal
).
Deeply disturbed, Viridiana decides not to return to the convent. Instead, she collects some beggars and installs them in an outbuilding. She devotes herself to the moral education and feeding of this exceedingly motley group. Disgusted, Moncho departs.
Jorge moves into the house with his girlfriend, Lucia, and starts renovating the rundown place. Lucia senses that he, like his father, lusts after Viridiana, and leaves after a while. Jorge then makes a pass at Ramona, who is not unwilling.
When Viridiana and Jorge leave for a couple of days to take care of some business, the paupers break into the house, initially just planning to look around. But, faced with such bounty, things degenerate into a drunken, riotous party, to the strains of Handel
's Messiah
. Posing for a photo around the table, the beggars resemble the figures in Da Vinci's Last Supper
.
The rightful owners return earlier than expected to find the house a shambles. The miscreants excuse themselves one by one and leave. Jorge confronts a beggar, who pulls a knife on him. When the man starts assaulting Viridiana, Jorge tries to rescue her, but another beggar strikes him in the head with a bottle, knocking him out. Viridiana resists being violated long enough for Jorge to regain consciousness. He has been tied up, but manages to bribe one beggar into killing the would-be rapist. The police then arrive to restore order.
Viridiana is a changed woman. The child Rita burns her crown of thorns. Wearing her hair loosely, she knocks on Jorge's door, but finds Ramona with Jorge in his bedroom. With "Shake Your Cares Away" on the record player, Jorge tells Viridiana that they were only playing cards, and urges her to join them, stating "Cousin, I knew you would someday shuffle the cards".
between Ramona, Jorge, and Viridiana.
tried unsuccessfully to have the film withdrawn and banned its release in Spain. L'Osservatore Romano
, the official newspaper of the Vatican
, described the film as "blasphemous." The film was released there in 1977, after Franco's death, when Buñuel was seventy-seven years old. However, the film was acclaimed at Cannes, winning the Palme d'Or. Buñuel later said that "I didn’t deliberately set out to be blasphemous, but then Pope John XXIII
is a better judge of such things than I am".
Not all critics of the day were in awe of it. Bosley Crowther
of The New York Times
wrote:
The film was released by the Criterion Collection in the United States, on the Directors Suite label in Australia, and by Madman Entertainment in New Zealand.
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
motion picture, directed by Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
and produced by Mexican Gustavo Alatriste
Gustavo Alatriste
Gustavo Alatriste was a Mexican actor, director, and producer of films. He was married from 1961 through 1967 to the actress Silvia Pinal...
. It is loosely based on Halma, a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós was a Spanish realist novelist. Considered second only to Cervantes in stature, he was the leading Spanish realist novelist....
.
Viridiana was the winner of the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival
1961 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jean Giono *Sergei Yutkevich *Pedro Armendáriz *Luigi Chiarini *Claude Mauriac *Edouard Molinaro *Jean Paulhan *Raoul Ploquin...
.
Plot
A young novice named Viridiana (Silvia Pinal) is about to take her vowsReligious vows
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices and views.In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of religious vows are taken by the lay community as well as by...
when her uncle, Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), invites her to visit him. He is her only living relative, but she has only met him once and is reluctant to comply. Her Mother Superior
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
pressures her into accepting.
Don Jaime is a recluse, living on a neglected farm with only a couple of servants, Ramona (Margarita Lozano
Margarita Lozano
Margarita Lozano is a Spanish-born actress known for her career in Italian films. She has worked for Luis Buñuel in Viridiana, Sergio Leone in A Fistful of Dollars, Pier Paolo Pasolini in Pigsty, the Taviani brothers in La notte di San Lorenzo, Kaos and Good Morning Babylon; Nanni Moretti in La...
) and Moncho, and Ramona's daughter Rita. When Don Jaime sees his niece, he is struck by her strong resemblance to his deceased wife.
The night before she is to leave, Viridiana, grateful for her uncle's longtime financial support, reluctantly complies with his odd request and puts on his wife's wedding dress. When Ramona informs Viridiana that Don Jaime wants to marry her, she is aghast, and Don Jaime seems to drop the idea. However, Ramona secretly drugs her drink. He carries the unconscious woman to her room with the intention of raping her, but at the last moment decides otherwise.
The next morning, he lies and tells her that he took her virginity, and therefore she cannot go back to her convent. When she is undeterred, he then confesses he lied, leaving her uncertain what happened that night. At the bus stop, the authorities prevent her from leaving. Her uncle has hanged himself, leaving his property to Viridiana and his illegitimate son, Jorge (Francisco Rabal
Francisco Rabal
Francisco Rabal , perhaps better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor born in Águilas, a small town in the province of Murcia, Spain....
).
Deeply disturbed, Viridiana decides not to return to the convent. Instead, she collects some beggars and installs them in an outbuilding. She devotes herself to the moral education and feeding of this exceedingly motley group. Disgusted, Moncho departs.
Jorge moves into the house with his girlfriend, Lucia, and starts renovating the rundown place. Lucia senses that he, like his father, lusts after Viridiana, and leaves after a while. Jorge then makes a pass at Ramona, who is not unwilling.
When Viridiana and Jorge leave for a couple of days to take care of some business, the paupers break into the house, initially just planning to look around. But, faced with such bounty, things degenerate into a drunken, riotous party, to the strains of Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
. Posing for a photo around the table, the beggars resemble the figures in Da Vinci's Last Supper
The Last Supper (Leonardo)
The Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este...
.
The rightful owners return earlier than expected to find the house a shambles. The miscreants excuse themselves one by one and leave. Jorge confronts a beggar, who pulls a knife on him. When the man starts assaulting Viridiana, Jorge tries to rescue her, but another beggar strikes him in the head with a bottle, knocking him out. Viridiana resists being violated long enough for Jorge to regain consciousness. He has been tied up, but manages to bribe one beggar into killing the would-be rapist. The police then arrive to restore order.
Viridiana is a changed woman. The child Rita burns her crown of thorns. Wearing her hair loosely, she knocks on Jorge's door, but finds Ramona with Jorge in his bedroom. With "Shake Your Cares Away" on the record player, Jorge tells Viridiana that they were only playing cards, and urges her to join them, stating "Cousin, I knew you would someday shuffle the cards".
Ending
The Spanish board of censors rejected the original ending of the film, which depicted Virdiana entering her cousin's room and slowly closing the door behind her. Consequently, a new ending was written which turned out to be more suggestive than the first — since it implied a ménage à troisMénage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
between Ramona, Jorge, and Viridiana.
Cast
- Silvia PinalSilvia PinalSilvia Pinal is a Mexican actress, who had roles in several of Luis Buñuel's movies such as El ángel exterminador and Viridiana...
as Viridiana - Fernando ReyFernando ReyFernando Casado Arambillet , best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and TV actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States...
as Don Jaime - Francisco RabalFrancisco RabalFrancisco Rabal , perhaps better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor born in Águilas, a small town in the province of Murcia, Spain....
as Jorge - Margarita LozanoMargarita LozanoMargarita Lozano is a Spanish-born actress known for her career in Italian films. She has worked for Luis Buñuel in Viridiana, Sergio Leone in A Fistful of Dollars, Pier Paolo Pasolini in Pigsty, the Taviani brothers in La notte di San Lorenzo, Kaos and Good Morning Babylon; Nanni Moretti in La...
as Ramona - Victoria Zinny as Lucía
- Teresa Rabal as Rita
- Lola GaosLola GaosLola Gaos, , was a Spanish film, television and theatre actress....
as a beggar-woman
Reception
After the film was completed and sent by the Spanish cinematographic authority to the Cannes Film Festival, and awarded, the government of Francisco FrancoFrancisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
tried unsuccessfully to have the film withdrawn and banned its release in Spain. L'Osservatore Romano
L'Osservatore Romano
L'Osservatore Romano is the "semi-official" newspaper of the Holy See. It covers all the Pope's public activities, publishes editorials by important churchmen, and runs official documents after being released...
, the official newspaper of the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, described the film as "blasphemous." The film was released there in 1977, after Franco's death, when Buñuel was seventy-seven years old. However, the film was acclaimed at Cannes, winning the Palme d'Or. Buñuel later said that "I didn’t deliberately set out to be blasphemous, but then Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
is a better judge of such things than I am".
Not all critics of the day were in awe of it. Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote:
The film was released by the Criterion Collection in the United States, on the Directors Suite label in Australia, and by Madman Entertainment in New Zealand.