Viridiana (1961) ****

The first of three films (one being a short) that Luis Buñuel made with Silvia Pinal and Claudio Brook, Viridiana (1961) was considered by some to be blasphemous and it was banned in Spain, only seeing release there in 1977 when Buñuel was 77 years old. Viridiana has a lot of bold symbolism and sexually suggestive imagery and dialogue. Somehow to me it feels like Buñuel at his most Bergmanesque. It also has a protagonist whose piety is taken advantage of at every turn, by both strangers and relatives alike. I'm not quite sure if the message is as simple as “be wary of well-intentioned charity,” but as a piece of filmmaking that presents human beings as realistic, complex, and sometimes base in nature, it's a masterwork.

You can find my Luis Buñuel Films Ranked list here.