By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
    Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
    Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt hosts InnoXera Summit on education in artificial intelligenceage
    Egypt hosts InnoXera Summit on education in artificial intelligenceage
    June 1, 2023
    Egyptian economy offers great competitive advantage, diversified investment opportunities: Ayman Soliman
    Egyptian economy offers great competitive advantage, diversified investment opportunities: Ayman Soliman
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt's new membership in New Development Bank enhances South-South cooperation: Al-Mashat
    Egypt’s new membership in New Development Bank enhances South-South cooperation: Al-Mashat
    June 1, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    India train crash kills at least 207, injures hundreds 
    India train crash kills at least 207, injures hundreds 
    June 3, 2023
    Madbouly reaffirms Egypt’s unwavering assistance for Palestine
    Madbouly reaffirms Egypt’s unwavering assistance for Palestine
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt reiterates firm position in support of Palestinian cause: Shoukry
    Egypt reiterates firm position in support of Palestinian cause: Shoukry
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt and France discuss joint cooperation in the health sector
    Egypt and France discuss joint cooperation in the health sector 
    June 1, 2023
    AU praises Egypt's role in achieving sustainable peace in Africa despite challenges
    AU praises Egypt’s role in achieving sustainable peace in Africa despite challenges
    May 31, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    EFG Finance to launch unified platform gathering all its financing services: Alaa Al-Afifi
    EFG Finance to launch unified platform gathering all its financing services: Alaa Al-Afifi
    May 31, 2023
    I changed my artistic path to create ‘state of wonder’: Tarek Lotfi
    I changed my artistic path to create ‘state of wonder’: Tarek Lotfi
    May 25, 2023
    I adore Ramadan drama, ‘Telt Al-Talata’ series achieved great success: Ghada Abdel Razek
    I adore Ramadan drama, ‘Telt Al-Talata’ series achieved great success: Ghada Abdel Razek
    May 8, 2023
    We aim to establish Egypt as nearshore centre for Software AG for MET region: Rami Kichli
    We aim to establish Egypt as nearshore centre for Software AG for MET region: Rami Kichli
    April 29, 2023
    Egypt-Spain relations witness remarkable development in recent years: Spanish ambassador in Cairo
    Egypt-Spain relations witness remarkable development in recent years: Spanish ambassador in Cairo
    April 18, 2023
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: Viridiana: destroying the alliance of religion, authority, and capital
Share
Notification
Latest News
India train crash kills at least 207, injures hundreds 
India train crash kills at least 207, injures hundreds 
Politics Breaking News World
Adding flavour of innovation to F&B industry in Africa
Adding flavour of innovation to F&B industry in Africa 
Women
Egypt’s Women on Boards Indicator records 19.7% in 2022 with 3% growth
Egypt’s Women on Boards Indicator records 19.7% in 2022 with 3% growth
Women
Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
Banking
Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
Business
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Opinion > Viridiana: destroying the alliance of religion, authority, and capital
Opinion

Viridiana: destroying the alliance of religion, authority, and capital

Mona Yousry
Last updated: 2017/01/18 at 1:24 PM
By Mona Yousry 6 Min Read
Share
Silvia Pinal in Luis Buñuel's VIRIDIANA.  Credit: Janus Films.  Playing 4/24 - 4/30.
SHARE

The hidden corridors of the human soul have secrets that are unheard of. And when death approaches, the truth is exposed in front of us, leading us to bounce back in amazement.  And how couldn’t we know this before?

Only cinema exposes humans, and in the niche of cameras, removes the masks. Spanish director Luis Buñuel did just this in his 1961 masterpiece Viridiana, exposing everything and reassessing it.

This film is considered to be the peak of this veteran director’s work during his revolutionary cinematic years. In this film, his revolutionary ideas and resentment towards the tripartite of authority, religion, and capital are laid bare.

Buñuel rebels against the church and the bourgeoisie, returning the impoverished class to its origins, and revealing the falsity of the human soul. He also sympathised with Jesus Christ, who was crucified by hateful people.

Viridiana of the White Cross

Buñuel starts his masterpiece with scenes in the courtyards of a Catholic convent, where his female protagonist Viridiana (played by Silvia Pinal), is preparing to start her life as a nun. However, she is invited to visit the husband of her dead aunt, to express gratitude to him for financially supporting her before she commits to the monastery. Here, Buñuel exposes one of the very secrets of the human psyche, which is greed. The older relative, who Viridiana looks up to as a father, craves her sexually, and asks her to stay to become his wife instead.

Jesus who was crucified for us

From the contradictions of the human soul in which good and evil have been fighting since the beginning of time is guilt. The elder relative feels guilt towards Viridiana, who decides to return to the convent after he tells her he had raped her the night before after she was drugged. When she refused to stay with him, he confesses that he did not rape her, but wished she would stay. As she is leaving, she is stopped by a police officer at the bus stop who informs her that her uncle has taken his own life. Veridiana inherits his estate, and chooses to return to the estate racked with guilt. The same guilt which prevents her from returning to the monastery.

The futility of religion and its naivety through the lens of Buñuel

Viridiana couldn’t sit tight practicing charity, something she was born for, without being crucified on the cross of God a thousand times. Pure as she is, she rushed to host the poor and needy in the house which her dead relative left her. She reaches out to the blind, the lepers, and the prostitutes. Believing that all those with a disability are in need, she pursed with her religious naivety to equate between all those poor individuals who are oppressed by disease and poverty. She tries to find jobs for each according to their ability, in a clear reference to the naivety of religious rule, and its strategy towards poverty: to adapt with the poverty of the poor, not eliminate the causes of poverty.

Jesus was crucified only because he was polite to the rude

This happened to Viridiana, after hosting those in need and helping them. However, the illegitimate son of her dead relative comes back, confessing his hate towards his father. He not only clashes with Viridiana, this strange neighbour who is feeding the impoverished, but is also attracted to her, like his father. The son, Georgy, is a symbol to the capitalist class, which despises the poor. The director also argues that the poor can hate among themselves, and hate those that give them help and shelter. One of the characters, an impoverished man who was kicked out of his community as they feared he would spread disease, was welcomed by Viridiana but ends up hating her. In one scene, where dinner is served for the poor, symbolising the last supper, two of the beggars rape Virdiana, with the help of the diseased impoverished man. He helped in the crucifying of Jesus, or Viridiana, after she helped him.

Viridiana is not just a film, and Buñueli is not just a director of this humanistic ballad who is disaffected with everything. Viridiana is a story about tormented humanity, about Christ who was crucified due to excessive politeness, and about other repulsive humans. Here, Buñuel used the camera to be a prophet to this suffering of humanity with all its scars.

You Might Also Like

Opinion| Russia and China promote stability in the Middle East after the US withdrawal from the region

Opinion| The American debt crisis and the 2024 elections

Opinion| Tips for startups operating in the tough environment of emerging markets

Opinion| Behind the scenes of the US-China conflict over Taiwan’s chips

Opinion| G7 Summit mobilizes Asian countries against China, while Beijing strengthens its position in Central Asia

TAGGED: film, filmdne, Viridiana
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Previous Article Angelique Kerber celebrates 29th birthday by advancing to third round
Next Article The sweet aroma of one of Cairo’s coffee vendors 
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image
Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

India train crash kills at least 207, injures hundreds 
India train crash kills at least 207, injures hundreds 
Politics Breaking News World
Adding flavour of innovation to F&B industry in Africa
Adding flavour of innovation to F&B industry in Africa 
Women
Egypt’s Women on Boards Indicator records 19.7% in 2022 with 3% growth
Egypt’s Women on Boards Indicator records 19.7% in 2022 with 3% growth
Women
Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
Banking
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?