Viridiana (1961)

Synopsis 

A young novitiate named Viridiana (Silvia Pinal) is about to take her vows and is told by her Mother Superior that she should visit her uncle, Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), her only living relative.

He tries to seduce her, believing that she resembles his deceased wife. Hearing of his desire to marry her, Viridiana attempts to flee the house immediately, but is subdued by Jaime and drugged with the help of his servant Ramona. He takes her to her room and considers raping her in her sleep, but decides otherwise.



The next morning he tells her that he took her virginity, and says that therefore she cannot return to her convent. By this means he intends to make her wish to stay, but instead she is disgusted and starts to pack.

He tries to rectify the situation by telling her that he lied, hoping it would convince her to stay, but this does little to appease her.

He asks for her forgiveness, but she ignores him and leaves the house. She is on the way back to the convent when the authorities stop her, telling her something terrible has happened.

Back at the house, her uncle has hanged himself.

Viridiana collects the village paupers, returns to the estate, and installs them in an outbuilding. Shunning the convent, she instead devotes herself to the moral education and feeding of this exceedingly motley group.

Meanwhile, Don Jaime's son, Jorge (Francisco Rabal), moves into the house with his girlfriend, Lucia. He, like his father, lusts after Viridiana, who scorns him.

A model of moral rectitude, Viridiana will soon suffer for her good deeds. When she and Jorge leave to visit a lawyer in the town, the paupers break into the house, initially just planning to look around.
But, faced with such bounty, things degenerate into a drunken, riotous orgy—all to the strains of Handel's Messiah.

Posing for a photo (sans camera) around the table, the beggars collectively resemble the figures in Da Vinci's Last Supper; a chair substitutes for the door which now cuts into the fresco, and removed Christ's feet. This scene, in particular, earned the film the Vatican's opprobrium.

The members of the household return earlier than expected to find the house in a shambles. As Jorge and Viridiana walk around the house in shock, the beggars excuse themselves and leave without explaining their behavior.

Jorge continues to inspect the house upstairs and encounters a beggar who pulls a knife on him. Another beggar comes from behind and breaks a bottle over Jorge's head, knocking him out.

When Viridiana arrives, she sees Jorge on the floor and runs to his side, but is then overpowered by the two beggars. Viridiana would surely have been raped except that Jorge, who is tied up, bribes one beggar to kill the other.

Viridiana is a changed woman: her crown of thorns is symbolically burnt. Wearing her hair loosely, she knocks on Jorge's door, but finds Ramona with Jorge in his bedroom.

With "Shake Your Cares Away" on the record player, Jorge tells Viridiana that they were only playing cards, and urges her to join them, a conclusion that is often seen as implying a ménage à trois.

Cast: Silvia Pinal, Fernando Rey, Francisco Rabal, Margarita Lozano, Victoria Zinny, Teresa Rabal,   Lola Gaos

Ending

The Spanish board of censors rejected the original ending of the film, which depicted Virdiana entering her cousin's room and slowly closing the door behind her. Consequently, a new ending was written which turned out to be more suggestive than first — since it implied a ménage à trois between Ramona, Jorge, and Viridiana. -- Wikipedia

Read about this film

Country: Spain | Mexico
Language: Spanish
Color: Black and White
Runtime: 90 min.