Review of Viridiana (1962) by Till K — 20 Jan 2007

Variety Lights and Il Bidone are some of the lesser important, still highly entertaining Fellini films. Viridiana is another masterpiece by Luis Bunuel.

Variety Lights was the first movie ever that was partly directed by Federico Fellini. It is a story about a group of variety performers who struggle with life and a young girl who wants to become a star and is ready to do everything to achieve that goal. The story is a bit like All About Eve, which was released about the same year. The movie is great however, one of the good old show-and-backstage dramas with nicely portrayed characters. Especially the camera movement I found somewhat interesting, as Fellini and Lattuada (the co-director) tend to use wide and more distant shots as soon as the young girl joins the group, as she is not really one of them. Great film and the start of an even greater career.

I liked it even more than Il Bidone, a letter Fellini Film. Il Bidone was Fellini's next movie after La Strada, which is one of my all-time favourites, but this time he failed to grab me emotionally. It is - of course - a beautiful movie with great performances and some very interesting scenes. But the story is more predictable than in other Fellini movies. However, it is a true Fellini, you can feel that in every shot. It just lacks a little bit of a something that every other Fellini film had.

Speaking of predictability: Luis Bunuel is the master of unpredictability, so I was looking forward to another Bunuel film: Viridiana. The thing with Bunuel films is that you never quite know what happens next. Everything can happen and this is what makes his films such exciting experiences. Viridiana is no exception: It is harsh, pessimistic and brutal, and certainly broke some taboos back in 1961. It is impossible to get the whole movie seeing it the first time, to really understand the subtle symbolism that is in almost every scene. It is truly fascinating though, another masterpiece from one of the true masters of cinema.