Viridiana (1961)
Religion is not for everyone.
Presentation:
Viridiana is a more obscure Spanish film from Luis Buñuel, to most likely be watched today by cinephiles. The film is classically presented and mostly dialogue propelled dealing with religious themes. There’s perhaps only one visually noteworthy scene referencing The Last Supper, ironically being the reason for its ban. The film has an interesting premise, but I found the direction to be unfocused and frankly boring most of the time. The main things the film has going for it are its anti-religious themes, resulting in it being denounced by the Vatican.
Analysis:
The film is anti-religious in response to Spain’s secular governance, with its main message critiquing the naive charity of Christians in a world run by human nature. There’s also a thematic element on class disparities illustrating the incivility of the lower class. Despite Viridiana being a saint, the man she helps betrays her unless motivated by money. The poor take advantage of her charity and kindness, illustrating the futility and recklessness of her blind trust. However, I don’t think this is a moral slam dunk. Conversely, one could make the argument that without religion, man sinks deeper into moral depravity. One would surely prefer the dog-saving and naive nuns of the bourgeoisie regardless of their hypocrisy in a given society?
Conclusion:
A fine film, but not deserved of the acclaim it gets from cinephiles. I believe it’s acclaim is mostly lauded by passionate atheists that will cheer vehemently for the downfall of any religion. It’s visually average and despite the commentary on human nature, I wasn’t challenged. However, I think it has elements that Parasite draws from. The social commentary is great. Narrative and presentation, not so much.
Recommendations
Visual poetry in motion.