Viridiana

Viridiana travels to the decaying estate of her only living relative, Don Jaime, who financed her education. The visit occurs as she prepares to enter the convent, setting up the clash between piety and personal ties. The mansion's atmosphere hints at the conflicts to come between charity, authority, and desire.

During the night, Don Jaime reveals that his wife bore an uncanny resemblance to Viridiana and died on their wedding night. He urges her to wear the preserved wedding dress and veil, then drugs her coffee and carries her to bed, where he nearly rapes her before regaining control. The episode leaves Viridiana unsettled and questions her future with the uncle.

In the morning, Don Jaime claims that Viridiana can no longer return to the convent because she is no longer a virgin, insisting it was a lie. Viridiana packs her belongings and flees the estate, but is apprehended by the police at a bus stop and brought back to the mansion. The ordeal upends her plans and intensifies the moral contradictions surrounding her.

Don Jaime hangs himself, leaving a will that divides his assets between Viridiana and his illegitimate son, Jorge. The act shocks the household and reshapes Viridiana's expected path, introducing a new dynamic of inheritance and kinship. The mansion becomes the focal point for competing loyalties as the will is read.

Unable to return to the convent, Viridiana decides to devote herself to aiding those in need. She gathers the estate's beggars and provides them with shelter, food, and prayers in the outbuildings. Her charity blurs the line between virtuous aid and an unsettling intrusion into the lives of the privileged.

Jorge, the illegitimate son, arrives with his girlfriend Lucía and begins renovating the neglected land and buildings of the estate. He also develops a covert relationship with Ramona, the loyal servant, complicating the household dynamics. The changes in the manor mirror the shifting lines between class, family, and desire.

Lucía grows bored with rustic life and resents Jorge's interest in Viridiana. She decides to leave the estate, removing a volatile element from the household but fueling jealousy and insecurity. Her departure unsettles the fragile balance within the group.

One night, the beggars break into the mansion while Viridiana is away in town with Jorge and Ramona. They pilfer items, then stage a banquet and a group photograph that parodies Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. The event devolves into a drunken orgy of sex and destruction.

When the owners return, most beggars flee, but two men seize Jorge and Viridiana, tying up Jorge as one attacker advances toward Viridiana. Jorge stops the assault by paying the aggressor with cash, and Ramona summons the police to end the danger. The incident exposes how quickly violence can erupt within a world of deprivation.

A few nights later, Ramona and Jorge are playing cards in his bedroom to lively music when they invite Viridiana to join them in a threesome. The invitation underscores the film's ambiguous moral terrain and Viridiana's ongoing conflict between faith, charity, and sexuality. The scene leaves her choice unresolved.