The Nun (film)
Encyclopedia
The Nun is a 1966 French
drama film
directed by Jacques Rivette
and based on the novel of the same title by Denis Diderot
.
last moment and instead begged her parents not to force her to take them.
This did not work, and later the young woman, named Suzanne, learned much about her family and her heritage - or her lack thereof. She discovered that her mother’s husband was not her father, and that her mother is shutting her up in the convent because she didn’t want her husband to know that the girl was not his daughter. She also does not want to see her sin in the flesh, for she says bearing the girl was her only sin. The father sent the priest to convince her, who revealed her heritage, but it fell on deaf ears. Later the mother fell on her knees to beg the daughter to take the vows, explaining the story enough to make Suzanne resign herself to her fate, realizing that her mother would never give her a chance to marry because the mother did not feel she was worthy to marry and the family could not afford to marry her off. She, according to the mother, did not have the bloodline to marry. She wrote her mother a letter that said she would take the vows, a letter that would be used against her later in the court case she wages against the church to be released of her vows.
She allows herself to be dressed in a wedding gown and takes the vows. The young woman enters the convent, extremely depressed and unresponsive, unable to cope with the requirements of being a nun. She bonds to the Mother Superior, who takes her under her wing, and they have many long conversations. The Mother Superior, Mme de Moni, knows it’s a mistake to accept the girl as a nun but does not stop it, instead telling the girl to accept her fate and make the best of it. Suzanne attempts to, which is made easier by Mme de Moni’s encouragement, and does not utter more words but her body language reveals all. During this time, Suzanne’s mother dies, and Mme de Moni does as well. She bears it until the life finally drives her mad, for the new Mother Superior, Sister Sainte-Christine, mistreats her because of her rebellion as a result of her dislike of the nun’s life. She isolates her constantly and deprives her of food, forcing her to a diet of bread and water.
Suzanne then sends her friend away with a letter to a lawyer. She wants to be free and absolved of her vows under the argument that everyone around her forced her to take the vows against her will: her mother, her father, the Mother Superior, etc. The lawyer, who becomes her biggest advocate against the religious orthodoxy enslaving her, informs her that while the case is pending, she will have to stay with Sister Sainte-Christine and endure the resulting persecution, but that either she will win or be transferred. Suzanne doesn’t care, not truly understanding the depths of Sister Sainte-Christine’ cruelty. While the case pends, Suzanne suffers such mistreatments under Sister Sainte-Christine, who steals her crucifix, forbids her to eat, forbids her to pray, forbids the other sisters to interact with or speak to her, and isolates her. She allows them to walk on the weakened, starving Suzanne after Mass. She is also whipped. They become convinced she is possessed, and Sister Sainte-Christine requests an exorcist. Officials arrive, see her mistreatment and understand that her devotion to God is not the way a possessed person would act, and investigate the mistreatment, which involves Sister Sainte-Christine’s being reprimanded. After that, Sister Sainte-Christine lessens the punishment to only isolation but still treats her coldly.
When Suzanne discovers that the church decided not to absolve her vows, she once again falls into a severe depression. Her lawyer apologizes and promises to keep in touch, although a church official forbids the contact. The same man later tells her that the church transferred her to another convent under the supervision of Mme de Chelles. In addition to long conversations about her thoughts and experiences, the light-hearted, fun, happy Mme de Chelle displays homosexual tendencies towards Suzanne, which Suzanne never fully grasps. She meets a monk who attempts to comfort her by saying that he was forced into religion against his will as well. They develop a relationship and he later tells her that they must escape together. Suzanne goes with him, but flees from him when he forces kisses on her as soon as they are together which implies he desires more with her. Suzanne finds refuge nearby, working as a seamstress and doing chores for women. While there, she learns that the monk was caught and faces life in prison, same as she does. She cannot bear the thought of returning. She flees the small village she has taken refuge in and winds up begging on the street. Someone gives her money and then a place to stay. They host a party, where she discovers her lawyer is dead. She later attends a costume party with the people. In the middle of it she asks God to forgive her and commits suicide by throwing herself out of the window.
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette is a French film director. His most well known films include Celine and Julie Go Boating, La Belle Noiseuse and the cult film Out 1....
and based on the novel of the same title by Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
.
Plot Summary
The Nun” started out with a young woman in a wedding gown preparing to take her vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty to make herself a nun, but she refused at thelast moment and instead begged her parents not to force her to take them.
This did not work, and later the young woman, named Suzanne, learned much about her family and her heritage - or her lack thereof. She discovered that her mother’s husband was not her father, and that her mother is shutting her up in the convent because she didn’t want her husband to know that the girl was not his daughter. She also does not want to see her sin in the flesh, for she says bearing the girl was her only sin. The father sent the priest to convince her, who revealed her heritage, but it fell on deaf ears. Later the mother fell on her knees to beg the daughter to take the vows, explaining the story enough to make Suzanne resign herself to her fate, realizing that her mother would never give her a chance to marry because the mother did not feel she was worthy to marry and the family could not afford to marry her off. She, according to the mother, did not have the bloodline to marry. She wrote her mother a letter that said she would take the vows, a letter that would be used against her later in the court case she wages against the church to be released of her vows.
She allows herself to be dressed in a wedding gown and takes the vows. The young woman enters the convent, extremely depressed and unresponsive, unable to cope with the requirements of being a nun. She bonds to the Mother Superior, who takes her under her wing, and they have many long conversations. The Mother Superior, Mme de Moni, knows it’s a mistake to accept the girl as a nun but does not stop it, instead telling the girl to accept her fate and make the best of it. Suzanne attempts to, which is made easier by Mme de Moni’s encouragement, and does not utter more words but her body language reveals all. During this time, Suzanne’s mother dies, and Mme de Moni does as well. She bears it until the life finally drives her mad, for the new Mother Superior, Sister Sainte-Christine, mistreats her because of her rebellion as a result of her dislike of the nun’s life. She isolates her constantly and deprives her of food, forcing her to a diet of bread and water.
Suzanne then sends her friend away with a letter to a lawyer. She wants to be free and absolved of her vows under the argument that everyone around her forced her to take the vows against her will: her mother, her father, the Mother Superior, etc. The lawyer, who becomes her biggest advocate against the religious orthodoxy enslaving her, informs her that while the case is pending, she will have to stay with Sister Sainte-Christine and endure the resulting persecution, but that either she will win or be transferred. Suzanne doesn’t care, not truly understanding the depths of Sister Sainte-Christine’ cruelty. While the case pends, Suzanne suffers such mistreatments under Sister Sainte-Christine, who steals her crucifix, forbids her to eat, forbids her to pray, forbids the other sisters to interact with or speak to her, and isolates her. She allows them to walk on the weakened, starving Suzanne after Mass. She is also whipped. They become convinced she is possessed, and Sister Sainte-Christine requests an exorcist. Officials arrive, see her mistreatment and understand that her devotion to God is not the way a possessed person would act, and investigate the mistreatment, which involves Sister Sainte-Christine’s being reprimanded. After that, Sister Sainte-Christine lessens the punishment to only isolation but still treats her coldly.
When Suzanne discovers that the church decided not to absolve her vows, she once again falls into a severe depression. Her lawyer apologizes and promises to keep in touch, although a church official forbids the contact. The same man later tells her that the church transferred her to another convent under the supervision of Mme de Chelles. In addition to long conversations about her thoughts and experiences, the light-hearted, fun, happy Mme de Chelle displays homosexual tendencies towards Suzanne, which Suzanne never fully grasps. She meets a monk who attempts to comfort her by saying that he was forced into religion against his will as well. They develop a relationship and he later tells her that they must escape together. Suzanne goes with him, but flees from him when he forces kisses on her as soon as they are together which implies he desires more with her. Suzanne finds refuge nearby, working as a seamstress and doing chores for women. While there, she learns that the monk was caught and faces life in prison, same as she does. She cannot bear the thought of returning. She flees the small village she has taken refuge in and winds up begging on the street. Someone gives her money and then a place to stay. They host a party, where she discovers her lawyer is dead. She later attends a costume party with the people. In the middle of it she asks God to forgive her and commits suicide by throwing herself out of the window.
Cast
- Anna KarinaAnna KarinaAnna Karina is a Danish film actress, director, and screenwriter who has spent most of her working life in France. Karina is known as a muse of the director, Jean-Luc Godard, one of the pioneers of the French New Wave...
- Suzanne Simonin - Liselotte PulverLiselotte PulverLiselotte Pulver , sometimes credited as Lilo Pulver, is a Swiss actress.Pulver was one of the stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, where she often was cast as a tomboy...
- Mme. de Chelles - Micheline PresleMicheline PresleMicheline Presle is a French actress also known in English language films as Micheline Prelle.Born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne in Paris, she wanted to be an actress from an early age. She took acting classes in her early teens and made her film debut at the age of fifteen in the...
- Mme. de Moni - Francine BergéFrancine BergéFrancine Bergé is a French film and stage actress .- Filmography :*1962 : Les Abysses*1963 : Judex*1964 : La Ronde*1965 : La Religieuse...
- Sister St. Christine - Francisco RabalFrancisco RabalFrancisco Rabal , perhaps better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor born in Águilas, a small town in the province of Murcia, Spain....
- Dom Morel - Yori Bertin - Sister St. Therese
- Catherine Diamant - Sister St. Cecile
- Christiane Lenier - Mme. Simonin
- Wolfgang Reichmann - Father Lemoine
Crew
- Jacques RivetteJacques RivetteJacques Rivette is a French film director. His most well known films include Celine and Julie Go Boating, La Belle Noiseuse and the cult film Out 1....
- Screenwriter, Director - Georges de BeauregardGeorges de BeauregardGeorges de Beauregard was a French film producer who produced works from many of the French New Wave directors. In 1968, he was a member of the jury at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival....
- Producer - Jean-Jacques Fabri - Art Director
- Francoise Geissler - Editor
- Harold Salemson - Editor
- Denis DiderotDenis DiderotDenis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
- Book Author - Jean-Claude ÉloyJean-Claude ÉloyJean-Claude Éloy is a French composer of instrumental, vocal and electroacoustic music.In his work Éloy realized one of the most significant syntheses of 20th-century music: between electronic and acoustic music, between Western and non-Western traditions...
- Composer (Music Score) - Jean GruaultJean GruaultJean Gruault , is a French screenwriter and actor. He wrote 25 films between 1960 and 1995. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for the 1980 film Mon oncle d'Amérique.He was born in Fontenay-sous-Bois, Paris....
- Screenwriter - Gitt Magrini - Costume Designer
- Denise de Casabianca - Editor
- Alain LeventAlain LeventAlain Levent was a French cinematographer and film director. He worked on 80 films between 1960 and 2007...
- Cinematographer
See also
- La Religieuse (novel)La ReligieuseLa Religieuse is an 18th century French novel by Denis Diderot. Completed in about 1780, the work was not published until 1796, after Diderot's death...
- La Religieuse (song)