"Biridiana" is another religious film made by the world film master Luis Bunuel after his "Nazarin" (1958). It is also the Buddha of Bunuel since 1939. Lango returned to Spain for the first time to shoot a film nearly 30 years after he left his homeland after he began to rule. With great excitement and excitement, Bunuel completed "Viridiana". The film represented Spain at the Cannes Film Festival and won the "Palmwood Award". However, the Franco government banned the performance of "Bilidiana" on the grounds of "anti-morality" and "profanity of religion". It was not until April 1977, after the death of Franco, that nearly 20 years passed, that Spanish audiences had the honor to enjoy the film. Although "Viridiana" was banned in Spain, the film shocked the world cinema with its rich ideological content and superb artistic treatment.
The plot of "Biridiana" is not complicated, but it is rich in connotation. It embodies Bunuel's religious view and is Bunuel's battle against religious challenges. Through Biridiana’s transformation from a fanatical belief in religion to the disillusionment of her ideals and the series of changes that have taken place in her ideology, Bunuel strongly criticized the poison of religion on people and exposed the nature of religious hypocrisy. The director explicitly warned people: God does not exist, and religion is not a panacea to save mankind and society.
The plot of the film is divided into three parts: First, the contradiction between Biridiana and her uncle Don Jaime; second, the contradiction between Biridiana and the beggar and others; third, the disillusionment of Biridiana’s fantasy And to a new life.
In the first part, Bunuel described Piridiana’s innocence and steadfast and fanatical pursuit of religion, and he did not hesitate to use methods to satisfy his possessive work of Piridiana. A detailed portrayal. Don Jaime's selfishness, despicableness, and cowardice are in stark contrast with Biridiana's purity and kindness. The conflict ended with the death of Don Jaime.
In the second part, although Don Jaime has passed away, it did not liberate Biridiana, but put a burden on her thinking. She thinks that her uncle's death is related to her, so she is unwilling to return to the monastery. She wants to dedicate herself to God in another way. Biediana continued to lead a poor life like a monk in the manor. She devoted herself to doing good and determined to transform the manor into a "pure land" for realizing the doctrine according to the teachings of God. In the face of the cruel reality, Bilydiana's charity was hit. Her kindness was exploited by a group of gangster proletarians. They thought Bilydiana was weak and deceiving. Not only did they not appreciate her, they would rape her instead. Birydiana's ideals and moral concepts were seriously challenged by reality, and Birydiana failed in this contest. When Biridiana woke up from the beautiful dreams that religion had wove for her, she was hesitant. Bunuel vividly demonstrated the absurdity of Biridiana to reform society in accordance with doctrine.
The third part shows that Biridiana broke free from the shackles of religion and began to explore a new life. Biridiana threw away the crown of thorns and the cross of Jesus that she had always regarded as holy objects, marking her emotional break with religion. She no longer regarded herself as a saint, but changed into a flowered shirt, draped her hair on her shoulders, and began to lead an ordinary life. Bunuel hints at the end of the film that her future life is still complicated.
Bunuel used his usual metaphoric technique in this film expressing profound philosophy to sublimate the theme. If Jorge saw a dog tied to a car on the road, he could die at any time. He bought the dog from the farmer out of compassion. However, he immediately saw another dog also tied under the car, in a worse situation than the first dog. Bunuel used this metaphor to show that it is possible for one person to do one or two good things, but with these, the status quo of Western society cannot be changed. Another example is that beggars drank and messed around in the living room while the owner was not at home. The composition of the picture and the arrangement of the characters are just like the masterpiece "The Last Supper" handed down by Leonardo da Vinci, but the person sitting in the seat of Christ is a blind man. In this scene, Bunuel directly flogged religious hypocrisy and boldly challenged traditional ideas, which was thought-provoking.
Bunuel’s artistic exploration in "Biridiana" is multifaceted. He makes full use of the unique charm of film language and makes his films extraordinary. Many shots in the film are processed by taking pictures of the feet of the characters first, and then explaining the characters. For example, in the scene of Biridiana's sleepwalking, she first filmed her bare feet and legs, and then showed the characters and the environment. Tang Jaime’s appearance and the two scenes of suicide and hanging himself were also shot on his feet first. This technique of taking a glimpse of the whole leopard not only gives people a sense of implicitness, but also captures the audience's psychology and deepens the audience's impression.
Bunuel's use of props in "Biridiana" is also unique. For example, when the daughter of the maid, Ramona, first appeared in the film, she was playing skipping rope. Later, Don Jaime used this rope. Suicide by hanging himself. When the crip came to the manor, he used the rope as a belt, and when the crip wanted to rape Biridiana, Biridiana grabbed the rope again while struggling. An ordinary rope runs through the important plot of the film, showing the director's meticulous artistic pursuit.
"Viridiana" is not only an important film in the history of Spanish cinema, but also a glorious page in the history of world cinema. In 1978, a selection committee composed of 19 internationally influential film critics and historians from the United States, the Soviet Union, France, Italy and other countries voted for 100 best films in the world. Bunuel has 6 films. Winning, including "Bilidiana".
Director Luis Bunuel (1900～1983) was born in a devout Catholic family in Calanda, Teruel, Spain. He studied at a mission school in middle school, and later graduated from the University of Madrid with a master's degree in literature and philosophy. . Since he received religious education since childhood, he has a deep understanding of religious hypocrisy. He went from belief in religion to rebellion, which determined his creative thinking, and made films with religious themes: "Nazarin" (won the Jury International Award at the Cannes Film Festival), "Biridi "Yana", "Simon in the Desert" (won the "Silver Lion Award" at the Venice Film Festival) and "Galaxy".
Bunuel has co-directed "An Andalu Dog" with the famous Spanish painter Salvador Dari in 1928, and has made 32 films until the last film "The Obscure Purpose of Desire" was filmed in 1977. These films involved religion, the bourgeoisie, death, sex, the army, morality, etc. He used films to explain social and philosophical issues, and in particular, he ruthlessly exposed and criticized religion and the bourgeoisie. Although he did not point out the way out to solve social problems, he fully revealed the ugly phenomena in capitalist society. The artistic path he took is also very complicated. He used to associate with surrealism, filming representative works of surrealism "An Andalu Dog" and "Golden Age", and then went on the road of realism and directed "The Land Without Food" (1932), "The Forgotten People" (1950, won the Cannes Film Festival International Critics Award and Best Director Award), "Tristane" (1972) and other films. In reflecting social reality, he borrows some surrealist processing techniques from time to time, reveals the essence of society with metaphors, dreams, illusions, and ideas, and is good at expressing his understanding and knowledge of reality in an almost absurd plot, like "Assets" The Charm of Class Prudent" (winning the 1972 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film), "Angels of Destruction", etc. Bunuel can use the characteristics of various genres for himself and create his own unique style.
Bunuel's films are unique and stand alone, with clear social significance. His films have won many awards at important international film festivals, thus becoming one of the world's famous film directors.
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