Review of Viridiana (1962) by Lanning : — 03 Apr 2009

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 tie 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 filmSadly, 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.