Bella de día

Quiet-looking Francisco Galván de Montemayor—wealthy, conservative, religious, and a virgin—meets Gloria at the foot-washing ceremony on Holy Thursday. At a party at his mansion, he wins her over and later marries her. Starting on their wedding night, jealousy transforms him into an obsessive and paranoid man who sees only murder and mutilation as a solution to his madness.

A priest in early twentieth-century rural Mexico embodies what the Gospels say about human goodness and mercy. After defending a prostitute who caused a fire, his once-loyal followers turn against him, backed by the authorities. As he flees, Nazario reconsiders his faith in the light of these events.

The influence and power exerted by “El Jaibo”, leader of a street gang, leads his followers into immorality, delinquency, and death. Luis Buñuel’s masterpiece is part of UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Register.

*Restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project at L’Immagine Ritrovata in collaboration with Fundación Televisa, Televisa, Cineteca Nacional Mexico, and Filmoteca de la UNAM. Restoration funding provided by The Material World Foundation.