The Nun (1966)

In eighteenth-century France a girl (Suzanne Simonin) is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Three mothers superior (Madame de Moni, Sister Sainte-Christine, and Madame de ... See full summary »

Director:

Jacques Rivette

Writers:

Denis Diderot (novel), Jean Gruault

Stars:

Anna Karina, Liselotte Pulver, Micheline Presle

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Karina	...	Suzanne
Liselotte Pulver	...	Mme de Chelles
Micheline Presle	...	Mme de Moni
Francine Bergé	...	Soeur Sainte-Christine
Francisco Rabal	...	Dom Morel
Christiane Lénier	...	Mme Simonin
Yori Bertin	...	Soeur Saint-Thérèse
Catherine Diamant	...	Soeur Saint-Ursule
Gilette Barbier	...	Soeur Saint-Jean
Annik Morice	...	Soeur Saint-Jéròme
Danielle Palmero	...	Soeur Saint-Clément
Françoise Godde	...	La domestique
Jean Martin	...	Monsieur Hébert
Marc Eyraud	...	Le père Seraphin
Charles Millot	...	Monsieur Simonin

Storyline

In eighteenth-century France a girl (Suzanne Simonin) is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Three mothers superior (Madame de Moni, Sister Sainte-Christine, and Madame de Chelles) treat her in radically different ways, ranging from maternal concern, to sadistic persecution, to lesbian desire. Suzanne's virtue brings disaster to everyone in this faithful adaptation of a bitter attack on religious abuses by the Enlightenment philosopher Denis Diderot.

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Plot Keywords:

persecution | france | vow | girl | lesbian | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Official Sites:

Independent Cinema Office (ICO) [United Kingdom] Les Acacias [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 July 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Nun

Filming Locations:

Villeneuve-les-Avignon, Gard, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,273, 6 January 2019, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$30,245, 10 March 2019

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rome Paris Films, Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Suzanne plays and sings the song "Plaisir D'Amour". The final title card identifies the time and place as 'Paris, 1760', but the song was not composed until 1785.

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Connections

Featured in Two in the Wave (2010)

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Soundtracks

Plaisir D'Amour
Music by Johann Martini (as Jean Paul Egide Schwarzendorf a.k.a. "Jean Martini")
Lyrics by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian

User Reviews

Diana Monti Back in the Habit

As the ruthless Diana Monti in Georges Franju's 'Judex' (1963), Francine Bergé had attempted to abduct virginal young heroine Jacqueline Favraux (played by Édith Scob) while disguised as a nun. Three years later she now has Anna Karina in her clutches as the cruel Sister Sainte-Christine.

As it reels from one abuse scandal to another the last thing the Catholic Church needs right now is the timely revival of this reminder of the sheer relentless boredom and awfulness of convent life over two hundred years earlier, into which young women were often cast for financial rather than spiritual reasons. Especially as we now know the church was still pursuing its abuse of the vulnerable even as it waged a furious campaign to censor this film on its initial appearance back in the sixties.

A surprisingly sumptuous looking production in colour & widescreen to come from nouvelle vague veteran Jacques Rivette, the film is of course further enhanced by the haunting beauty of Karina in the title role and by the ever delightful Lilo Pulver as the sapphist Mother Superior of a rollicking and worldly convent that resembles Castle Anthrax in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.