Storia di una monaca di clausura (1973)

Director:

Domenico Paolella

Writers:

Tonino Cervi (writer)
Domenico Paolella (writer)

Release Date:

March 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A woman who was promised to a powerful family's son at birth falls in love with another man, refuses to renounce him...

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Convent | Lesbianism | Lesbian | Murder

Cast

Catherine Spaak	...	Sister Elisabetta
Suzy Kendall	...	Mother Superior
Eleonora Giorgi	...	Carmela
Martine Brochard
Umberto Orsini
Konrad Georg
Ann Odessa
Antonio Falsi
Tino Carraro
Isabelle Marchall
Caterina Boratto
Giuliana Calandra
Clara Colosimo
Rina Franchetti
Luigi Antonio Guerra

Also Known As:

Der Nonnenspiegel (West Germany)
Diary of a Cloistered Nun
Story of a Cloistered Nun
The Diary of a Closeted Nun (Australia) (video box title)
Une histoire du 17. siècle (France)

Runtime:

UK:86 min | Italy:97 min

Country:

Italy | France | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:18 | UK:18 | West Germany:16 | USA:R

Company:

Produzioni Atlas Consorziate (P.A.C.)

Movie Connections:

Follows Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo (1973)

STORY OF A CLOISTERED NUN (Domenico Paolella, 1973) ***

Possibly the best of the Italian "Nunsploitationers" – even if, apart from ample nudity (the violence here is quite mild), the film's character-driven nature is liable to disappoint hardened genre fans…not to mention a denouement which could be deemed anti-climactic! It was made by the same people behind THE NUN AND THE DEVIL (1973; see above) yet, being inspired by real events and therefore more 'serious' in tone than its predecessor, director Paolella was not afraid to attach his name to it. While the plot per se is rather thin and offers no real surprises (especially after having watched 9 of these in a brief span of time!), the end result is immeasurably elevated by spot-on central casting: Catherine Spaak (as a rebellious bisexual nun), Suzy Kendall (as the quietly perturbed Mother Superior) and Eleonora Giorgi (arguably the loveliest actress to feature in this type of film and whom the makers miss no opportunity to parade sans clothing); by the way, Martine Brochard from the previous film returns in the role of a crazy nun. The males figure less prominently this time around – even Umberto Orsini is no more than a narcissist relishing his prohibited liaison with a cloistered nun (Spaak). Following on from THE NUN AND THE DEVIL, Piero Piccioni contributes another lush yet moody score to complement the film's striking visuals (courtesy of cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi, a Pasolini regular, and the stark production design). Interestingly, the credits are accompanied by stills depicting vintage artwork but also scenes from the previous film itself!; a small gripe I have with this particular presentation of STORY OF A CLOISTERED NUN is that the admittedly tiny English subtitles are non-removable (which, being fluent in Italian, I did not require).