Mother Joan of the Angels (1961)

A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.

Director:

Jerzy Kawalerowicz

Writers:

Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz (novel), Tadeusz Konwicki (screenplay)

Stars:

Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lucyna Winnicka	...	Mother Joan of the Angels
Mieczyslaw Voit	...	Father Jozef Suryn / Rabbi
Anna Ciepielewska	...	Sister Malgorzata / Margareth
Maria Chwalibóg	...	Antosia / Girl at the Inn
Kazimierz Fabisiak	...	Father Brym
Stanislaw Jasiukiewicz	...	Chrzaszczewski / Squire
Zygmunt Zintel	...	Wincenty Wolodkowicz / Innkeeper
Jerzy Kaczmarek	...	Kaziuk
Franciszek Pieczka	...	Odryn
Jaroslaw Kuszewski	...	Juraj
Lech Wojciechowski	...	Piatkowski
Marian Nosek	...	Dominican Priest
Jerzy Walden	...	Dominican Priest
Marian Nowak
Zygmunt Malawski	...	Exorcist

Storyline

Set in the 17th century. A convent in a small town is being visited by high-ranking Catholic official trying to exorcise the nun supposedly posessed by demons. A local priest have been burnt for creating this condition by sexual temptation of the nuns, especially the Mother superior who bring on the collective hysteria of the group. There is another young priest who is to help with the exorcism. His first meeting with the convent head, Mother Joanne of the Angels, has her seemingly posessed by Satan - she yells blasphemies and incites the priest. She begs the priest to save her and to help her to be a saint.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | priest | nun | convent | exorcism | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the same 17th century historical incident that was also the basis for Ken Russell's "The Devils".

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Quotes

Father Jozef Suryn: All redemption is in love. Love is as strong as death.

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Connections

Version of The Devils (1971)

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Soundtracks

Theme Music
Performed by the The Polish Radio Choir (as Polish Radio Choirs)
Conducted by Tadeusz Dobrzanski

User Reviews

A True Hidden Gem

A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.

I had never heard of this before it ended up on one of my lists and the title did not instill much confidence. Instead, it shocked and amazed me. Whether this is a "horror" film or not is open to debate. I think it is, but it is done in such a way that it will appeal to a wider audience than just the horror crowd. At the time his film was made, how many possession movies existed? To my knowledge, not very many.

The gritty lack of color, this is a film that deserves to be highlighted by scholars and movie lovers alike. I understand Martin Scorsese gave it some love, but perhaps there is more that can be done.

Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish Latin

Release Date:

9 February 1961 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Mother Joan of the Angels

Filming Locations:

Józefów, Lódzkie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Polski Film Agency, ZRF "Kadr"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1