在这部黑夜剧情片中,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.
A fascinating study of the poet Saint John of the Cross, and his spell in solitary confinement. Set in the convent of Toledo, this film explores the temptations that surrounded him, the dreams that afflicted him, his sanctity and his sanity.
