Movielogr
The Dark Night of the Soul (1989)
Directed by Carlos Saura
Overview
Pantheon filmmaker Carlos Saura bounced back from a handful of failures with 1989’s La Noche Oscura (The Dark Night). Juan Diego stars as San Juan de la Cruz (St. John of the Cross), the legendary 16th-century poet-prophet. Galvanized into action by the spirit of Santa Teresa de Jesus, San Juan fought to install reforms in the Carmelite Order. Like many another visionary, he was regarded as a heretic, and promptly subjected to the most appalling of tortures. Writer-director Saura manages to draw several parallels between the religious persecution of the 1700s and the political despotism of Fascist Spain.
Length 93 minutes
Actors
Juan Diego | Julie Delpy | Fernando Guillén | Manuel de Blas | Francisco Casares | Fermí Reixach | Abel Vitón | María Elena Flores | Adolfo Thous