Viridiana

Viridiana, 1961

Spain / Mexico, DVD, Black & White, 90’, Spanish

Director: Luis Buñuel

Cast: Silvia Pinal, Francisco Rabal, Fernando Rey

The chaste yet fallen blonde of Belle de Jour stars as Viridiana, a young nun who is about to take her final vows, and pays a farewell visit to her rich uncle Don Jaime who has paid for education. Though at first she is unsure about him, Jaime treats his innocent niece so kindly that the girl does not suspect that he intends to seduce her. But after Viridiana drinks the drugged coffee offered her and falls unconscious, Jaime does not have the heart to rape her. Still, he tells Viridiana that she is no longer a virgin so that she does not leave him to go back to the convent. A well-known black comedy by Buñuel, a director who loves fetishism and satire.This cynical and cathartic film about human nature won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, in which it participated secretly in the name of Spain, unbeknownst to the authorities.