It is not difficult to see why the film would upset Catholic sensibilities. The famous last supper scene, where a group of disabled paupers re-enact a debauched version of the famous biblical painting by Da Vinci, is one of Buñuel’s most flagrant attacks on Catholic hypocrisy. This scene, and much of what precedes it, shows that poverty or ill-fate is no barrier to moral corruption: the poor can behave just as badly, if not worse, than the most fortunate, given half a chance, in strict contrast to the teachings of Christ, which are based to a great extent on the nobility of poverty.
Viridiana’s own small attempts to do good are a spectacular failure compared with Jorge’s lesser attempts, the difference being that Viridiana is doing good as a conscious effort to follow her religious beliefs, whereas Jorge is governed by basic humanitarian responses (for example, the scene where he rescues an ill-treated dog). Examples like this about Buñuel’s perceived flaws in Catholic teaching abound in this film, culminating in an almost heretical ending.
Honest the film may be; subtle, it is not.
© James Travers 2001
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- Director: Luis Buñuel
- Script: Julio Alejandro, Luis Buñuel, based on a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós
- Photo: José F. Aguayo
- Music: Gustavo Pittaluga, Georg Friedrich Händel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven
- Cast: Silvia Pinal (Viridiana), Francisco Rabal (Jorge), Fernando Rey (Don Jaime), José Calvo (Beggar), Margarita Lozano (Ramona), José Manuel Martín (Beggar), Victoria Zinny (Lucia), Luis Heredia (Beggar)
- Country: Spain
- Language: Spanish
- Runtime: 90 min; B&W



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Comedy / Drama


