Friday Jan 11, 2008 (7:30pm)
Luis Buñuel's Nazarín is one of the auteur's least-seen films, an acerbic attack on the Catholic Church. The protagonist is an earnest priest, living exactly as Christian precepts prescribe, who's defrocked after defending a prostitute. Living with the prostitute and her sister, the "Don Quixote of the priesthood" attains an entirely personal spirituality that nears sainthood (despite his old church's protests). Sustained by Gabriel Figueroa's graceful yet gritty cinematography, Buñuel's tirade against organized religion hinges on whether you see the suffering, self-righteous priest as a saint or a misled fool.
– Jason Jude Chan