Viridiana (1961, Sp./Mex.)
In Luis Bunuel's widely-condemned, subversive and banned
surreal masterpiece and ironic drama for suggestions of incest, rape
and necrophilia, and for its perceived indictment of Catholic self-righteousness,
blasphemy, and obscenity - the winner of the Golden Palm (Palme d'Or)
at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival in the year of its release:
- in the plot, devout Spanish convent novice Viridiana
(Silvia Pinal) was compelled to visit her rich, land-owning, reclusive
widower uncle Don Jaime's (Fernando Rey) who was still mourning
the death of his wife due to a heart attack on their wedding night
in his arms - without consummation
- the first view of the uncle's estate - actually the
legs and feet of jump-roping young Rita (Teresa Rabal), the daughter
of Don Jaime's maid Ramona (Margarita Lozano) - the lonely, admiring
Don Jaime was watching her innocent activity, and offered her a new
jump rope
- the initial meeting between Viridiana and her uncle
- somewhat chilly
- as Don Jaime played the organ, in Viridiana's bedroom,
she partially disrobed and revealed her shapely legs when she removed
her dark stockings; she also unpacked her suitcase, carrying a small
wooden cross and a crown of thorns
- in the secretive privacy of Don Jaime's bedroom (with
a veil draped over his dressing chest), he was seen admiring his
wife's wedding clothes - he slipped her white, high-heeled satin
shoe over the top half of his right foot; he also modeled her corset
in front of a mirror; when Viridiana appeared, he was entranced by
the sight of her bare legs in front of the fireplace
- Don Jaime's one last favor of the reluctant Viridiana
- to satisfy his obsession with her similar looks to his deceased
wife ("You look just like her"), he clothed his niece Viridiana
in his wife's wedding gown. He admitted: "I can't keep my eyes
off you" and reluctantly confessed ("You must think I'm
mad") that he would like to marry her ("I never want you
to leave this house"); her reaction was repulsion: "You
can't be in your right mind. I've been so happy here, and now you've
spoiled it all"
- although Don Jaime promised to drop the subject, afterwards
his servant Ramona secretly drugged her tea drink; Don Jaime carried
Viridiana into the bedroom, reclined her on the bed, kissed her,
loosened the top of her dress, buried his head in her breasts, and
was tempted to rape her
- the next day, he falsely confessed to her that he
had taken her virginity to keep her from returning to the convent
for her final vows; when she was still determined to leave, he admitted
that he lied ("I only possessed you in my thoughts") --
but the ultimate result was his own guilty self-humiliation and a
suicidal hanging with a jump rope; in his will, he left his estate
property to her, shared with his illegitimate, cynical son Jorge
(Francisco Rabal)
- the black comedy sequence of Jorge purchasing a dog
from a peasant ("The cart's only for people") - the animal
was tied to the undercarriage of a horse-drawn cart (a common Spanish
practice); Jorge wished to prevent it from hanging itself - but after
the transaction with the peasant, failed to notice - ironically -
that another cart moving in the opposite direction had an equally-exhausted
dog also tied under it
- the virtuous and idealistic Viridiana, partly out
of guilt, charitably gathered together a destitute group of thieves,
beggars, drunks, lepers, cripples, and whores; they took over the
house after she had invited them to live at her uncle's crumbling
estate, and she had briefly left to formalize inheritance of the
property; while absent, they invaded the house and nearly destroyed
everything - they killed goats for a feast, dirtied the tablecloth,
and broke expensive china and furniture
- the final most controversial sequence was the drunken
parody and re-enactment of Da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' by the group
- they 'freeze-framed' in a tableau for a mock group portrait at
the table, pictured to the sounds of the "Hallelujah Chorus" in
Handel's Messiah; at that moment, one of the filthy female
beggars, Lola Gaos (Enedina), pretended to be the 'photographer'
and metaphorically suggested snapping the picture by lifting her
skirt
- the celebration reverted into an orgiastic riot,
with dancing, ribaldry, violence, food-fighting and cross-dressing
- anachronistically, a syphilitic beggar clothed himself in the
dead wife’s corset and veil and performed an obscene dance,
while a couple had sex in the living room behind the sofa; one
of the celebrants even attempted to molest and rape Viridiana when
she returned to the house
- totally disillusioned or maybe more sexually aware
of herself (after two attempted rapes), Viridiana submitted to playing
a game of cards, to the sounds of the early 60s pop tune Shimmy
Doll ("Shake Your Cares Away") - as the camera retreated
backwards through a closeted doorway
- the film's ending: a suggested possible menage
a trois scene between ex-nun Viridiana, servant Ramona, and
her lothario, rakish cousin Jorge