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Silvia Pinal, Fernando Rey, Francisco Rabal, Margarita Lozano, Victoria Zinny ... see more see more... , Teresa Rabal , Alicia Jorge Barriga , José Calvo , Lola Gaos , Palmira Guerra , Luis Heredia , Maruda Isabert , Jose Manuel Martin , Joaquin Mayol , Sergio Mendizabal , Joaquin Roa , Juan Garcia Tienda , Milagros Tomas

After 25 years' exile, Luis Buñuel was invited to his native Spain to direct Viridiana -- only to have the Spanish government suppress the film on the grounds of blasphemy and obscenity. Regarded by m... read more read more...any as Buñuel's crowning achievement, the film centers on an idealistic young nun named Viridiana (Silvia Pinal). Just before taking her final vows, Viridiana is forced by her mother superior to visit her wealthy uncle Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), who has "selflessly" provided for the girl over the years. She has always considered Don Jaime an unspeakable beast, so she is surprised when he graciously welcomes her into his home. Just as graciously, he sets about to corrupt Viridiana beyond redemption -- all because the girl resembles his late wife. It is always hard to select the most outrageous scene in any Buñuel film; our candidate in Viridiana is the devastating Last Supper tableau consisting of beggars, thieves, and degenerates. As joltingly brilliant today as on its first release, Viridiana won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Luis Buñuel

Release Date: May 1, 1961

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DVD Release Date: February 28, 2006

Stats: 432 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (432)

  • ebs90
    December 25, 2009
    ebs90
    Luis Bunuel uses the poor innocent Viridiana (the lovely Silvia Pinal) to make fun, or make a point, against Christian charity and traditional Christian values. He sees them as a waste of time and energy, and an attempt against pragmatism and progress. The film is also critical o... read moref idealism. In few words, Bunuel here is at his most acid, but notice it isn't a comedy unless you have a fairly sadistic sense of humor.

    Viridiana is a novice who goes to see her uncle Don Jaime (Fernando Rey) one more time before leaving to become a nun. Well, Don Jaime falls head-over-heels for her because she resembles his dead wife, but as the love is unrequited, he kills himself. Viridiana is left with a good deal of guilt and is forced to quit her aspirations of becoming a nun. Instead, in order to redeem herself, she goes back to Don Jaime's country house and decides to lodge, feed, and put to work a group of beggars out of Christian charity and mercy, so as to not feel like a sinner. Don Jaime's son (Francisco Rabal), a worldly, "immoral", modern man, moves in and also has plans for the house, that involve a very idealistic vision of a productive agricultural business. Viridiana's beggars turn against her in the end and she is defeated by the mundane.

    Bunuel makes fun, first of Viridiana's guilt: see where it gets her! Guilt is basic in the living of the Catholic faith, but Bunuel doesn't see what good it does. Then he shows us that Viridiana's idealistc ideas of turning ordinary and drunken beggar/thieves into pious workers by showing them some charity: a) doesn't solve the problem of poverty in Spain, that's for sure b) blows up in her face when they prove to be ungrateful and cruel. Bunuel makes us wonder, then, if charity does make a difference, or whether it really brings benefits to anyone at all beyond a momentary relief. Viridiana's idealism is finally defeated by Don Jaime's son, whom she visites in the final scene to surrender her chastity and her innocence to the carnal world, where, at least according to Bunuel, real things do take place and reality, although gritty, is what it is: good, or bad, and no in-betweens or aspirations of achieving a very sly state of grace.

    Besides the superb acting and the brilliance of several of the dialogue lines, especially among the beggar characters, Viridiana is worth watching for the amount of religious/moral questioning it raises. Bunuel manages to, effortlessly, entertain and attack at the same time. No scenes are fillers, nothing is coincidence. As usual in Bunuel films, he offers such confusing and mystic elements as oniric elements and religious symbols, and yet the message comes through crystal-clear without having a dream dictionary at hand. Although it is more conventional than his more surrealistic films, Viridiana is no less visceral, no less unapollogetic in its daring reproach of tradition and religious convention as The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, or any of his better-known films for that matter.
  • SirPant
    October 2, 2009
    SirPant
    A grand incitement of all that's wrong with the world, it?s funny, Viridiana probably was dated for a time but actually seems quite apt in today's society. Classic Bunuel who managed to kick up a stink just as he'd been forgiven for the last one. All directors should have a bit o... read moref Bunuel in them or they just shouldn't make films!
  • flixsterman
    September 22, 2009
    flixsterman
    "What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." - Ecclesiastes 1:13-14
  • binky013
    April 4, 2009
    binky013
    Maybe because I didn't see this when it first arrived on the scene, I have to say that nearly 50 years later, it actually strikes me as dated and, in many ways trite. Of course in its day, I don't doubt that it was shockingly controversial, and who can knock anything that can ti... read moree Francisco Franco's undies in a knot. Worse yet for me, I wasn't raised a Jesuit, so I may be lacking in the kind of obsessive love-hate relationship intensity that is presented here in terms of Catholicism and Christianity in general.

    I am, up front, a Christian, but I find the assault on Christianity to be pretty harmless, although moderately interesting.

    What I don't see the critics talking about nearly as much, is the sexual perversity of the movie, which strikes a much louder chord with audiences of any time, I'm guessing. From the bizarre desire of an uncle for his niece, and the strange machinations to which he resorts in order to seduce her, to the menage a trois ending, I'd have to say if there's anything that's going to "entertain" a viewer today, this would be more likely. That one image of the maid biting the cousin's hand is surely as provocative, from a cinematic viewpoint, as any other image in the film

    Sadly, the revolutionary quality of this film is lost on someone who may have read too many books and seen too many movies over the course of a lifetime.
  • rubystevens
    April 14, 2008
    rubystevens
    an amazing film, made in fascist spain by the fearless luis bunuel, it's a stunning indictment of not only the church but all of society. the story of a young would be nun whose destiny is changed forever by a visit to her uncle; bunuel portrays the poor and downtrodden memorab... read morely and almost ruthlessly, a la los olvidados, and the well meaning girl's attempts to help them, all in vain.
  • pier007
    October 30, 2007
    pier007
    A heartrending drama, but also a remorseless religious satire. Buñuel sets fire on every iberic-latinamerican taboo with his characteristic twisted humour.
  • webalina
    June 2, 2007
    webalina
    Am I missing something. This is the 3rd supposedly great film that I've seen with an ambiguous ending that makes no sense. These films get all the attention for being deep or meaningful or whatever. They just piss me off. I know life isn't always wrapped up in neat little package... read mores. But I want my films to be. Actually I don't think I'm missing anything. I think films like this are like the Emperor's New Clothes. Nobody wants anyone to think they're stupid when they see a film full of nonsense, so they pretend to "get" something that's probably not even there to anyone but the director. But I calls 'em as I sees 'em, and this one was crap.
  • divinetrash
    March 22, 2011
    divinetrash
    A fascinating exploration of human nature with flawless performances, especially by lead actress Silvia Pinal. Luis Buñuel tones down the oddity that is common in his work, the surrealism, and by doing so gives a greater punch to the gut with the exploration of this themes; this ... read moreis a film that has aged particularly well and is probably more resonant now than it was 50 years ago.
  • DrStrangeblog
    October 15, 2008
    DrStrangeblog
    'Viridiana' Elevates Blasphemy to an Art Form

    Judging by the short synopsis, I didn't figure this would be one of the better Bunuels for me, but its appearance on Turner Classic Movies and my gullible viewing mood sealed my fate. Besides, I've been meaning to see more following ... read moreBelle de Jour. Not as weird or surreal as I would've liked, but Viridiana - the story of a nun-to-be who gets sidetracked at her uncle's estate before taking her vows - unsurprisingly makes many pointed (and I'm sure many more subtle that I missed) jabs at the Catholic church. Banned upon its release in Spain in 1961, maybe they took offense at the famous Last Supper pose by a variety of degenerate hobos and tricksters. As the director himself said, "It's just a movie," although his tongue surely took cheeky residence.
  • jimbotender
    August 27, 2008
    jimbotender
    Handel's choral masterpiece as the background for the most blaspheme Last Supper.Bunuel as the puppeteer of all.Utterly symbolic,a mockery to pious segregation-diligence.

View All Viridiana Reviews

Critic Reviews

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Whether Señor Buñuel means his picture as a reflection of all people or just the people of Spain is not clear nor, indeed, is it essential. It is an ugly, depressing view of life. And, to be frank abo... Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Luis Buñuel returned to his native Spain to create this 1961 masterpiece, which marked his rebirth as a filmmaker of international repute. Full Review

Keith Uhlich
April 22, 2009
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

For Luis Buñuel, impiety is a genetic trait and an essential facet of his art. That his work also lifts the spirit -- imparting a delirious sensation of the divine-is a most welcome incongruity, one e... Full Review

Tim Brayton
March 23, 2008
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

An extraordinary cinematic treasure. Full Review

Cole Smithey
June 1, 2007
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

Essential and unforgettable.

Donald J. Levit
March 6, 2007
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

'Viridiana' probes deep into psychological earth; at the core, it's a despairing picture of the dark cavern of the human heart. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
July 28, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

See Viridiana, and all other movies will seem to be missing something from then on. Full Review

Thomas Delapa
July 12, 2006
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly

One of Bunuel's most scathing attacks on Spanish society and religion. Full Review

John A. Nesbit
June 14, 2006
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

ranks near the top of Bunuel's body of work Full Review

Jay Antani
May 17, 2006
Jay Antani, Filmcritic.com

quintessential Bunuel Full Review

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Viridiana Trivia

  • Who starred in Luis Buñuel's Viridiana, El Angel Exterminador and Simon del Desierto?  Answer »
  • She was the devout innocent girl whom fernando Rey and Francisco Rabal lusted after in Luis Buñuel's "Viridiana" (1961):  Answer »
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