Sister Mary Explains It All (2001 TV Movie) User Reviews

nun's names

[missivonne · 7/10 · 12 July 2009]

Just to add two bits to this. I, too, studied with a nun with a male saint's name, Sister Joseph Maureen. That's why I always quipped -- even before seeing Durang's play -- "The ones with the male saints' names are the worst." Sister Joseph Maureen was such a terror that I was sent to a psychologist at 7.

As to who is and isn't a "nun," for 99 percent of those in the Roman Catholic Church, both contemplative (cloistered) sisters and apostolic (out in the world as teachers, nurses and, nowadays, other occupations) sisters are referred to as "nuns." Indeed, in 1984, when I wrote my master's thesis on modern nuns, apostolic sisters freely referred to themselves and others in the apostolic orders as nuns. The distinction is not much observed in everyday speech.

A missed opportunity

[Rectangular_businessman · 5/10 · 30 September 2012]

"Sister Mary Explains It All" started well, and personally, I think that it could have been a great satire. Sadly, the plot from this television film bites more than it can chew, adding a lot of unnecessary elements of melodrama, and a very pathetic and unconvincing genre twist at the end, which in my opinion ruins the whole film, turning an acid and clever dark comedy into a lame attempt of tragedy which is so cheesy and poorly delivered that it almost feel like something that could be expected from a soap-opera.

"Sister Mary Explains It All" was a very disappointing television film, with lots of wasted potential. It had good performances (Diane Keaton role was easily the best part of the whole movie) funny moments, and delivers many good points that (in my opinion) should be taken in consideration, but unfortunately, it ends being a deeply flawed and forgettable experience.

And I have to say it again: The ending was awful.

NUN'er Stumbles

[NJMoon · 6/10 · 20 May 2001]

Finally Chris Durang's controversial 1981 one-act play SISTER MARY IGNATIUS EXPLAINS IT ALL FOR YOU has been brought to the screen - the small screen - by the boundary-pushing SHOWTIME, appropriately enough. Durang himself penned the screenplay and effectively opens up what is inherently part lecture, part stand-up, and part vaudeville. The major problem faced is how to deal with the "audience" that the theatre provided in the form of ticket buyers each evening.

Durang re-sets the action of his "Nun's Story" at Christmas, the eve of Sister Mary's 25th Annual lecture, and works in a variety of wayward Catholic parishoners attending Sister's obligatory holiday talk-fest. Among them are a pair of teens who have been having pre-marital sex, a nearly deaf devotee of Sister's who just likes to see people smile, a bitter divorcee (producer Victoria Tennent), as well as a dysfunctional couple (Martin Mull is the hubby, and his expressions during Sister's rants are priceless) who'd rather be shopping. Primary among Sister's guests are four students from her 1959 class, who have decided to re-enact their Nativity pageant in order to embarrass the strict nun. This quartet consists of a variety of folk Sister now classifies as "going to burn in hell" and are led by the particularly bitter Angela DiMarco (a stunning turn by Laura San Giacomo), whose name has been changed from the play from Diane Symonds, one of the few text changes made. Once they arrive, Sister's best laid plans go awry and the lecture reels wildly out of control.

Marshall Brickman's precise direction (including some nifty flashbacks to sepia-toned 1959) keep Durang's humor intact, but it is the "star turn" of Diane Keaton as Sister Mary who single-handedly destroys the tone of Durang's greatest work. The role is a demanding one, no doubt, but Keaton's approach is erratic, random, and leans toward humor where pathos is required. The delicate balance of SISTER MARY relies upon how "real" Sister seems to us. Keaton treats the character as a stand-up comedian, we never see a glimpse of her soul. Sister Mary really is a frightened and insecure woman whose reality and way of life is slipping quickly away. Half grandmother, half dictator, the habit's original owner Elizabeth Franz was one of the few to hit the exact right notes and she's sorely missed here. While I'm glad to see the piece finally lensed, I'll have to be happy with my memories of the stage production for the "real" Sister Mary Ignatius.

Reactionary? You betcha!

[dar25 · 2 January 2002]

I love reading other people's commentary. Of course, the downside is seeing opinions that differ from one's own. I had to say, this movie was pretty darned funny.

Of course, the folks who have seen the play on stage will say the movie was a poor replica; it is their duty as "insiders" to knock any reproduction of what they felt was especially theirs. The screenplay was by the same man who wrote the play, and he sculpted it very carefully. To knock the movie is to knock the playwright, which to any Durang fan is quite the slight.

As for the heavy-handed approach to Catholicism; why not? I'm sure, if Durang had suffered through a Jewish school of the same nature, we would be seeing a film and/or play based on his days with the Semite community. He just happened to be Catholic, and wrote a brilliant satire of what he knew.

And of course, there is the erratic pacing of the film. Odd sequences, strange juxtapositions, etc. It is all very confusing at times, but it all serves a purpose. If one has dealt with Durang before, one knows that his delivery is always quite odd, and always biting. The performance by Keaton actually emphasized the strange nature of his writing, and while it might not have been as stellar as some stage performances, it deffinetely served its purpose.

Basically, it is an odd film. The words of Christopher Durang presented by quite the cast of actors, coupled with a pretty decent director, brought a brilliant play to (recorded) life. I can assure you that any misscomfort you feel was fully intentional. It takes you on a rollercoaster from hillarity to shock to horror, all the time driving home a very blatant message.

And by the way, non-Catholics get the jokes, too.

still funny but with a message

[cinemajunky · 6/10 · 11 August 2005]

Movies aren't made to affect everyone who watch, though they try to hit at least 90% of their audiences. Any movie in the history of cinema has both those who sing its praises and those who condemn it as trash.

I enjoyed "Sister Mary Explains It All" because I recognize the difficulty in making a movie with limited props. Diane Keaton spent almost the entire movie under a spotlight on a stool in front of an "audience" with no other actors to rely on for guidance or tone until the very end. The tough love no-nonsense nun bad guy stereotype never fails at comedy in any genre (ie. "Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys").

Now, where it separates itself from all the other genres is when Laura San Giacomo et al walk in depicting the Nativity and how that all turns out. Yes, it villanizes the Catholic church, but that has become a plot device used more and more recently concerning the many controversies surrounding that particular institution. The movie tells a story of cause and effect through stereotypes.

When Giacomo drops her character's life story bomb on Diane Keaton's character, the movie shifts gears into a drama and the rest of the cast spill their life outcomes with equal bang. This is no light heart scene of reunion. And then, the film fades in typical stage play fashion after a long-awaited climax - an excellent way to end the movie without really ending to the characters.

Disastrous travesty

[Erewhon · 3/10 · 7 July 2001]

Christopher Durang must have been taught by a memorably awful nun, because he just can't let go of the concept. The play, "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You," was presented -- at least in Hollywood -- in precisely the same tone as Diane Keaton's lecture scenes here. Sister Mary was an exaggeration, a lampoon, a bitter satire of a serenely confident, doctrinaire and highly judgmental nun -- and as played by Lynn Redgrave, she was hilarious. But the movie insists that we take this exaggeration absolutely seriously -- while, as mentioned, maintaining the same tone in the "explains it all" scenes. The two approaches clash headlong and in the last twenty minutes, the movie goes off the track, plunges into the gorge, and explodes. There are no survivors. It could have worked, if the tone of the scenes with the four former students, and their encounter with Sister Mary, been pitched the same as the Sister Mary scenes. Or if the Sister Mary scenes been presented more realistically. This way simply doesn't work at all.

Irreverent, blasphemous, and lots o' yucks.

[=G= · 6/10 · 28 May 2001]

"Sister Mary..." puts Diane Keaton in the title role, on stage at a Catholic Christmas pageant, where she...um, well, mostly lectures about Catholicism...blaa, blaa, blaa...cut to the chase...bottom line; this movie pokes spoofy fun at the Catholic religion which I, not being Catholic, thoroughly enjoyed. The film is a tongue-in-cheek, not-to-be-taken-seriously blatant lampooning of Catholic dogma mixed with silliness, nonsense, and borderline slap stick. Not likely to receive rave reviews, this little flick offers fun for those who don't mind a little blaspheme...okay, a lot of blaspheme with their humor.

A bad movie gone awry

[sptacek · 1/10 · 8 June 2001]

This is a film that takes some digesting. On the one hand, we are offered a tough outward shell, a story that does not only derive the Catholic Church, but does so foolishly, and uninformed. On an inner layer, we are offered a story of orthodoxy over orthopraxis, and what happens when people follow blindly a faith that they must not understand.

At first glance, it appeared this was supposed to be a comedy. If so, then Mr. Durang needs to open a dictionary, because he clearly does not know the meaning of the word. The jokes are pale; the humor is awkward and poorly delivered. In particular, Ms. Keaton's performance is flighty and over the top, well below the quality of her Annie Hall and Sleeper days. Jennifer Tilly is again the model of stridence, with her hi-pitched voice and whining style. All of this could be forgiven if it weren't for the last 20 minutes of this movie, that evidently was a controversial play made in 1981.

***Careful, spoilers ahead***

It all starts with the appearance of four former students of Sister Mary Ignatius (Ignatius, by the way, is a male name, and a nun would not adopt it after her vows under any circumstance simply due to that fact, just to show you how much tireless research went into the project to begin with.) When they all admit that they don't live up to the church's teachings, the sister proceeds to become irrational and abuse them in a manner the audience is to believe she did way back when in the corny, all-too-cliché sepia-tone flashbacks. When one of them admits to having two abortions, the nun becomes even more abusive, until the pupil pulls out a gun. After wrestling it away from her, the nun kills the pupil, presumably in self-defense. She then goes on a screaming rampage, killing a gay former student because of his sins. The last shot is of the dead female pupil lying in a Christ-like pose as a shadow of a cross hangs over her. Can you say `heavy handed?' I knew you could!

I know there have been abusive nuns in the past, and I know many people have been emotionally harmed as a result, but this imagery is fed down our throats in almost every other shot in this train wreck of a movie. I have heard from the writer and the director that this is a film about hysteria and why one should not follow the orthodoxy so religiously, no pun intended. This explanation is hard to swallow, though, simply because we are never given an authoritative viewpoint that is not biased against the catholic faith in one way or another. This film is simply anti-Catholic tripe, which in the name of fairness and equality, is mean spirited and hateful.

This is a film I would recommend for a catholic, namely to awaken him or her to the realities of what cynicism and ignorance they face today. If it were `Rabbi Ray explains it all' or `Imam Muhammad explains it all', there would be rioting in the streets and Showtime would lose all of its subscription. But, sadly, because this is a film that strikes out against what is perceived to be the majority, it is accepted and even applauded by those who share the same spiteful point of view.

I certainly hope every member of that cast was a practicing catholic, so it wasn't just ignorance that brought them to make this film.

I give it 1.5 stars out of 5, not because of its offensive nature, but because it was poorly written, poorly directed and just a bad movie in general. Don't even waste your time.

Who made you??

[boger · 8/10 · 12 March 2002]

Great movie, especially if you're a recovering Catholic!! Excellent job by Keaton. She was so believable I found myself ducking to avoid getting hit by ruler. Over all I laughed, I cried, I confessed my sins. Worth renting!!!

SO mean-spirited

[anneritchey · 3/10 · 20 October 2005]

As a "lapsed Catholic" who had 11 years of Catholic school, but hasn't been to Mass in 35 years except for weddings and funerals, I thought I'd get a kick out of this. And I did . . . for the first two-thirds of the movie. It was all the standard stuff -- strict parochial school teachings, repressed sexuality, etc. But then, suddenly, the movie turned mean. REALLY mean. Now mind you, I saw this before the pedophilia scandals hit . . . and maybe I wouldn't have been quite so offended at such nasty, hateful digs at the Catholic Church if I'd known about those abominations (such a Catholic term!) and coverups.

It's been a few years since I rented the video, and I won't go back to rent it again with a new perspective. It just left such a dirty, nasty, ugly taste in my mouth . . . I wonder what experience all the actors had with the Church, because either they *really* hate it, or they whored themselves for the paycheck. It's an incredibly anti-Catholic movie, offensive to anyone who has a glimmer of a gleam of respect for Catholic education. Which I still do because there were no better teachers back in the '50s. Whatever else those nuns did, they forced me to learn how to read and write the English language. They made us memorize. (How many kids today can do simple arithmetic in their heads?) Truth is, there's nothing more essential for success in America. Can ya read? Can ya add/subtract/multiply/divide? Great. You can get any advanced degree you want. And the discipline of Catholic education will stand you in good stead, not just as you continue your studies, but also for the rest of your life, no matter what you think of the Catholic "mythology" we all had to learn.

Such a great cast, such a lousy, rotten script. I really feel bad (and no, it's not "badly" -- trust me, the nuns taught me better) for the writer and director.

I thought I had mixed emotions about Catholic school. But the participants in this project must've been those bad (ie.e, stupid) kids who sat in the back of the room, if they were willingly involved in making this movie.

The absurdity of it all expressed beautifully.

[lastliberal · 8/10 · 17 August 2008]

Those who have suffered through years of the Sister Marys and the Baltimore Catechism and the ridiculous and simplistic beliefs that are Catholicism will either love this film, or be utterly shocked that their system is so beautifully ridiculed.

The fact that Catholic League President William Donohue blasted Viacom, the owner of Showtime, for showing this is justification enough to watch. Anything that gets Donahue's shorts twisted must be good.

Diane Keaton was just marvelous as Sister Mary. It has to be the best performance I have seen from her.

Of course, I always like to see Laura San Giacomo, who was also great as the good little girl who grew up to the real world and found that there is no God.

Brian Benben, Wallace Langham. and Jennifer Tilly were also fantastic and made this film the real joy that it was.

I would be remiss not to praise Max Morrow as the young actor who was just precious.

Christopher Durang wrote a great play and screenplay that really ties it all together for the mess that it is.

Dark twist near the end spoils an otherwise lighthearted movie.

[Korgath · 4/10 · 21 October 2003]

A less-than-subtle poke at the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church is given a darker shade of death near the end of the show. Throughout the show, dark humour plays a medium through which several commonly heard rhetoric questions are asked, especially "If God is so good, why does he allow evil to exist in the world?"

Diane Keaton is excellent in her role as an exaggerated version (though some might disagree) of they stereotyped religious teacher who spouts the "company line" and condemns half the world to burn in Hell. To celebrate her school's 25th anniversary, she invites her first students to return and perform their Christmas pageant.

However, when the quartet "update" their play to parody Sister Mary's "fallacious" teachings, the nun is pushed over the edge, sending the story spiralling into a chain of unhappy events. The ending finally leaves the audience with a sick feeling in their hearts.

Not recommended. Go watch the play instead.

Confusing

[Vibiana · 3 September 2001]

I am a former Catholic, so parts of this movie that I found funny were mysterious to the person I watched it with (who knew very little about the Catholic church). For example, most of the parroted, rote-style question-and-answer bits ("Who made you?" "God made me.") were from the Baltimore Catechism, which was used extensively in Catholic schools during the "golden age" of Catholic education in the 1940s and 1950s. But this movie was set in 1984, if my math is still good, and I don't know of any parish schools affiliated with the Church of Rome who could have gotten away with using it by then.

Ditto with some of the doctrinal "humor." To people who aren't Catholics, it just isn't funny. It's confusing and will probably do more to *alienate* Catholics from the faithful of other beliefs, which definitely isn't needed.

Finally, the ending was upsetting and needlessly tragic. It was not worth the emotional investment in the characters.

Oh, and a note to the person below who said a nun would not take a male name under any circumstances (meaning Ignatius) -- that simply isn't true. I have known many women religious who took male names. In many orders, the common practice up until Vatican II was to use the first name of Mary for every sister, and then add a second name -- a male saint's name, such as Patrick, Charles, Aloysius, or -- yes -- Ignatius -- to make Sister Mary Patrick, Sister Mary Charles, etc. In fact, I have a good friend who was a sister in the 1970s whose name in religion was Sister Mary Matthew.

What *is* incorrect, in this context, is to call such a person a nun. A nun is a member of a cloistered religious order. Such religious are bound by "solemn" vows and lead lives of contemplative prayer, away from the outside world. Female religious who serve their order in schools, hospitals, or other visible venues are not nuns. They are sisters, and they are bound by "simple" vows.

While I do not wish to flaunt my familiarity with the Catholic church, I do want to point out that because of it, I was able to recognize that this movie simply does not work as a "humorous" film when shown to a non-Catholic audience. There are too many "inside" jokes.

Intriguing, but far from satisfactory

[itamarscomix · 5/10 · 24 May 2005]

The only reasons I'm giving this film a generous five star rating is A, that I'm generally biased in favor in any movie, book or play that is different, off-beat and chance-taking, as well as any that takes a firm stand against religious dogmas, be they Christian, Jewish or Muslim; and B, Diane Keaton's truly impressive performance.

What we have here is a stage play transferred to screen in a way that simply doesn't work. Having never actually seen the play I don't feel that I am able to comment on the script itself; but the adaptation is just not good enough. The pace is all wrong, and by the time you actually manage to figure out what the film is meant to be and get into it, the story is over; and the last ten minutes or so is a dull, anti-climatic, irritating montage of flashbacks from the film, that is supposed to be a trip through Sister Mary's disturbed and distressed mind, but seems more like a clip show on a TV series. Thus the ending is unsatisfying and uninteresting, as the movie seems to have run out of things to say half an hour too early.

Again, praise should go to Diane Keaton; an excellent actress, one of the finest and most under-appreciated in Hollywood, who gave in this film a great performance in a character which is miles away from her usual ones. The problem is that the rest of the cast just don't cut the mustard, and their characters are shallow and poorly developed. If the film was forty minutes or less, it might have been better. As it is, it's intriguing, and fit for TV viewing, but certainly not more.

TERRIBLE!

[SimonSays00 · 2/10 · 18 November 2001]

I would have given it a one instead of a two, but I suppose it COULD have been worse. I guess the acting isn't all that bad, but the plot lacks anything even remotely close to interesting. It is a terrible movie!! TERRIBLE! Complete waste of time! I strongly suggest you do not watch this movie.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved this movie, Diane Keaton is incredible as usual

[steph214378 · 10/10 · 14 May 2006]

I'm not even Catholic and I found this movie to be a riot in every way. The shocking ending is just that, shocking and meant to be that. The people that don't like this movie are watching it for the wrong reasons anyway. Watch it for what its meant to be, shocking humor and stop looking for the deep. Sister Mary Explains it all, simple as that. No more! No less!!! The actors are incredible and not even being Catholic I got the humor. I've recommended this to all my friends and family. Everyone that's seen it loved it. I think its going to end up being another cult classic. I'm actually looking for a copy to purchase. It's not available on Netflix as yet.

Not a good comedy, not a good satire...just plain not good.

[Tanstaafl1969 · 1/10 · 4 November 2007]

I am a Catholic taught in parochial elementary schools by nuns, taught by Jesuit priests in high school & college. I am still a practicing Catholic but would not be considered a "good Catholic" in the church's eyes because I don't believe certain things or act certain ways just because the church tells me to.

So back to the movie...its bad because two people are killed by this nun who is supposed to be a satire as the embodiment of a female religious figurehead. There is no comedy in that and the satire is not done well by the over acting of Diane Keaton. I never saw the play but if it was very different from this movies then it may be good.

At first I thought the gun might be a fake and the first shooting all a plan by the female lead of the four former students as an attempt to demonstrate Sister Mary's emotional and intellectual bigotry of faith. But it turns out the bullets were real and the story has tragedy...the tragedy of loss of life (besides the two former students...the lives of the aborted babies, the life of the student's mom), the tragedy of dogmatic authority over love of people, the tragedy of organized religion replacing true faith in God. This is what is wrong with today's Islam, and yesterday's Judaism and Christianity.

Hilarious even if you're not Catholic

[dmlpansy · 10/10 · 2 September 2019]

The movie hilariously points out the ridiculousness of the Catholic religion. I can certainly see why people are leaving it in droves, if this is what they were taught. The end is extremely dark, but it shows just how mentally ill, and possibly bi polar Sister Mary is. I enjoyed the common sense humor in the play, as well as each character adult stories.

Target; the church.

[WendyOh! · 1/10 · 22 June 2001]

Broad enough for you? Wait till you see this heavy handed

adaption of a little collegiate one act. What is shocking and wild in

college rarely holds up over time, and this is proof. To take on the

Catholic Church with broadside humor just isn't shocking or

interesting or funny, it's kind of boring. The performers are all

game, giving all they've got, but it's basically a play that doesn't

open up to film well. Not a lot of fun.

What were they thinking?

[mermatt · 7 June 2001]

Supposedly the play on which this movie is based was a laugh-riot on stage, but the filmed version is a mess. The playwright as well as the cast and director can't seem to figure out whether this is a comedy, a tragedy, or a melodrama. As a result, the film is all of these -- and therefore, none of these.

I love good satire, and I was hoping that this would be a gritty spoof of those tunnel-visioned fundamentalists who take themselves so seriously that they begin making up their own religion, never realizing that they have sadly strayed from any orthodox teachings. But I was severely disappointed in this mish-mash.

Back to the old hell book with this script!

Realistic Depiction of the Unreal Just Doesn't Work

[kalel6868 · 4/10 · 5 July 2002]

I have always said that some plays by their very nature just can't be translated to film, and this one is a prime example.

As a play, this is a very funny farcical satire of the Catholic church, with a razor wit and a central character who is so shockingly unreal we have to root for her even when she starts murdering her parishioners (one of whom made the fatal mistake of admitting he had not sinned since his last confession, so she feels she is sending him straight to heaven).

That's just one example of how far outside of reality the play goes, and in the make believe world of the theater, it works. However, that kind of heightened reality rarely works on film, and it certainly doesn't here.

Director Marshall Brickman has assembled a fine cast who do great work, but by presenting all this absurdity in a realistic fashion the comedy becomes tragedy and you are left with an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Seek out a production of the stage play instead, you won't be disappointed.

Sister Mary has had it with people.....

[ddickerson-2 · 10/10 · 5 December 2006]

Sister Mary has had it with people who don't get it- the Church that is. It really is very simple and she has to explain it in great detail but the stupid people just don't get it. And she has had it. And, she points out, if one wants to waste a few "sinners" and send them to their rewards all one has to do is go to confession afterward and be exonerated. Hey, what a deal for sinners. Add to this the return of some of her "students" from 25 years ago who want to put on a symbolic nativity play and you have a recipe for impending disaster. Satire has many forms from parody to travesty and this conforms to the latter. But after all that happens Sister Mary stays within the strict confines of the teachings of The Church. Those who don't understand either satire or the true Church will have a problem with this film.

Wonderful!

[starrlette84 · 10/10 · 17 June 2002]

I first rented this movie a few months ago, and it has become, by far, my favorite. I love this movie! Christopher Durang is brilliant! I know that the movie is different from the play, but come on, it's a pretty darn good adaption.....I've seen worse :-) If you're at all like me, you will never get tired of this movie. Sure, it gets a little, ok, a LOT dark at the end, but I just don't think it would be the same without that. After you get over the initial shock, it can even be rather humorous(not in a "real life" sence, obviously, but just because it is so ridiculous!). Oh, and by the way, I'm not Catholic, and I'm pretty sure I got it all. I also realize that it is not an accurate representation of the Catholic Church :-)

I give this movie a 10+++++++++++, but from the rest of the reviews I've read here, you need to have a rather twisted sense of humor (like mine) to fully enjoy it! Oh, and by the way, if you're a fan of Christopher Durang, go check out LAUGHING WILD pronto! It's a wonderful play, too!

Oh, Good Lord...

[Justin Cognito · 27 April 2002]

Christopher Durang's daring play SISTER MARY IGNATIUS EXPLAINS IT ALL TO YOU has finally been made into a film by Showtime. And, while watching, I asked myself a seemingly appropriate question: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

The movie takes place at Sister Mary Ignatius' 25th annual Christmas Eve Mass. While Sister Mary gives her usual sermons, four friends who were in Sister Mary's Sunday school class reunite to (if you'll pardon the pun) raise Hell at the Mass, by restaging their Nativity play as a farce of Sister Mary's lectures.

This part of the movie is very funny. The lighthearted pokes at Catholicism will have many rolling with laughter, and the Nativity play had me in stitches.

Unfortunately, the movie takes a dark, disparaging turn that entirely ruins the movie. While the same shocking turn was played up for laughs in Durang's play, here, it is played up for full shock value. By the end of the movie, you'll have forgotten nearly all that is good about it and only focus on the last 20 disturbing minutes.

In short, SISTER MARY is, for the most part, a good movie. However, do NOT watch it in its entirety, or the experience will be ruined for you.

fake refuges

[Kirpianuscus · 6 August 2020]

For a Christian , ignoring the confession , it has high potential to be pure blasphemy. For a not Christian, I suppose, it can be bizarre and absurd. I saw in the last scenes not as a film/play about Christianity and its message, not as a film about bigotism but as a story about teaching as refuge against life. Diane Keaton gives a splendid portrait of profound loneliness, need of power in absolute forms, about isolation in herself of a sister- obvious, Mary ignatius is a sister, not a nun and a precise indictment against sins, cruel mistakes of Romano - Catholic Church. It is not a black comedy, but good occasion to reflection. About soulless faith , about refuges and real meaning of education. A not comfortable film about forms of moral blindness .