Guild Hall Rediscovers Viridiana

by Adam Bertrand · July 8, 2008

    Luis Bunuel's masterpieceAny film that's been eviscerated by the Pope and banned in its home country is bound to be, if not good, at least interesting. Throw in a Palme d'Or, and you're looking at a surefire winner. Luis Buñuel’s story of a young nun trying to maintain her faith under extreme duress is moving, in an understated, kind of sardonic way -think Wes Anderson with more than a dash of Sam Mendes.

    Viridiania (Sylvia Pinal) is a nun who's about to take her final vows when she is urged by her mother superior to visit her aging uncle. She does; he tries to seduce her to disastrous ends, she flees, only to return after he dies to try her hand at a little Robin Hood emulation, the result of which is about as successful as her uncle's. That's the gist, but there's so, so much more. See for yourself at Janus Films' presentation in Guild Hall in East Hampton tonight.

    [Image via Ohio University]