1961 · drama
Viridiana
Directed by Luis Buñuel1h 30m1961
Viridiana is preparing to start her life as a nun when she is sent, somewhat unwillingly, to visit her aging uncle, Don Jaime. He supports her; but the two have met only once. Jaime thinks Viridiana resembles his dead wife. Viridiana has secretly despised this man all her life and finds her worst fears proven when Jaime grows determined to seduce his pure niece. Viridiana becomes undone as her uncle upends the plans she had made to join the convent.
Our read: Viridiana (1961) reads as a heavy, measured, inventive drama entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.
Heavy, measured, measured drama, inventive in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.
- heavy
- measured
- intense
- inventive
- bleak
- cold
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How Viridiana feels to watch.
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What watching it is actually like.
“You want acidic Buñuel blasphemy aimed straight at piety, privilege, and desire.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if assault subtext, suicide imagery, and sacrilegious despair will sour everything.
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