La vera storia della monaca di Monza (1980)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Bruno Mattei

Writer:

Claudio Fracassi (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 July 1980 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Female Full Frontal Nudity | Nunsploitation | Lesbianism | Female Nudity | Bath

Cast

Zora Kerova	...	Sister Virginia de Leyva
Mario Cutini	...	Giampaolo Osio
Paola Corazzi	...	Sister Candida
Tom Felleghy
Franco Garofalo	...	Don Arrigone
Annie Carol Edel	...	Aurelia (as Annie Karol Edel)
Paola Montenero	...	Sister Benedetta
Mario Novelli
Ornella Picozzi
Leda Simonetti	...	Margherita
Franca Stoppi	...	Mother Superior
Giovanni Attanasio	...	Reverend Father

Also Known As:

Les novices libertines (France)
The True Story of the Nun of Monza (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

Brazil:79 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Italy:VM18

Company:

Cinemec Produzione

So...THIS is what really happened in Monza

Eriprando Visconti's 1969 film 'The Nun of Monza' is often hailed as one of the founding entries of the nunsploitation genre; and one of the best, but Bruno Mattei obviously didn't feel that Eriprando Visconti told the story properly and so, for reasons of artistic integrity I'm sure, decided to make his own version; entitled 'The True Story of the Nun of Monza', in order to right whatever wrongs were present in the earlier version of the film. Well, it would seem that the older one simply wasn't trashy enough and didn't feature enough nudity, and Mattei certainly corrected that; although the rest of the film suffers as a result. The plot focuses on Sister Virginia de Leyva; a nun who becomes the Mother Superior of her convent in Monza. However, all is not rosy as the nun is plagued by dreams involving various forms of debauchery; and her problems aren't just limited to her sleep either, as it turns out that the convent is also a place of sin as her fellow nuns enjoy lustful encounters with one another.

This film was apparently shot at the same time as Mattei's other nunsploitation flick, The Other Hell and while this film is not very good; it is at least better than the more well known one. The original Nun of Monza was actually quite a high quality nunsploitation flick; and while this one is of a higher quality than some entries in the genre, it's still clearly a trashy eighties film. Still, the film is not a complete dead loss. Bruno Mattei may have hit the nunsploitation genre a little bit too late; but he still manages to create an often interesting tale. Much of the film is taken up by various sex acts and demonic imagery; but the director does manage something in the way of a foreboding atmosphere and the film is usually somewhat interesting. However, too much of it is dragged out and it feels like its never really going anywhere; which is even more disappointing considering how heavy the story in the original film was. However, Mattei fans may find something to like here and I wouldn't hesitate to call this the director's best foray into this genre.