The Dark Night of the Soul

The Dark Night of the Soul

  • Overview
  • Cast
  • Crew
  • Recommendations

Status

Released

Release Date

Feb 23, 1989

Runtime

1h 33m

Genres

War, Drama

User Score

50%

Original Title

La noche oscura

Director

Carlos Saura

Description

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.