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The Nun

Play trailer Poster for The Nun 1966 2h 35m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Suzanne (Anna Karina) unwillingly joins a religious order, but the presence of the kindly mother superior, Mme. de Moni (Micheline Presle), makes life seem bearable. When Mme. de Moni dies, though, she is replaced by Sister Sainte-Christine (Francine Bergé), a sadistic disciplinarian with a grudge against Suzanne. Suzanne obtains a transfer to a different convent -- until she discovers that her new abbess, Mme. de Chelles (Liselotte Pulver), is a sexual predator.

Critics Reviews

View All (21) Critics Reviews
Justin Chang Los Angeles Times In its sculptural compositions and meticulous choreography of bodies through space, it has a recognizably Rivettian formal beauty. Jan 22, 2019 Full Review John Anderson America Magazine There are no theological arguments made in La Religieuse. Suzanne's faith is firm, her Christian belief a monument to itself, given her treatment. But again, the convents serve as metaphors... Jan 18, 2019 Full Review Anthony Lane The New Yorker It writhes with almost uncontainable surges of anger, lust, and distress. Jan 6, 2019 Full Review Justine Smith Vague Visages Piercing sounds of church bells drown out several passages within the film. The ringing — purposefully captured at an uncomfortably loud octave — encompasses our ears. Jun 6, 2024 Full Review Arthur Ross Los Angeles Free Press I only hope that the public is entertained and instructed by this beautiful film and not misled by its notoriety. Jan 8, 2020 Full Review Jesús Fernández Santos El Pais (Spain) The story of Suzanne -- a girl rejected by her parents and victim of a sadistic nun -- doesn't begin to move us. [Full Review in Spanish] Jul 25, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (15) audience reviews
Todor V. D Rivette films are awesome Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/11/24 Full Review Audience Member Loved the Nun...if you are a fan of the horror genre..I think you will like this picture...lots of special effects, spooky story well told, frightening scenes and a fantastic music track that deserves an Oscar nomination. The music is fabulous. well done. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member The wife of the Nouvelle Vague, Anna Karina, stars in Rivette's controversial machine gun against the bestialities of religious fundamentalisms. <i>La Religieuse</i>, which is itself a more proper movie title to be maintained rather than its international and less exact translation "The Nun", is a purely freely artistic film adaptation of Denis Diderot's novel of 1760. It tells the tragic story of Suzanne Simonin, played by Anna Karina, a woman who was forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Her justified rebellion and lack of faith, both derived from her frustration and solitude, is taken as Satanic behavior in the convent where she lives. Moving from convent to convent, she will be subject to inhuman treatments, blindly dismissive accusations and even lesbian learnings from each Mother Superior she treats, while simultaneously facing the ultimately repulsive and hypocritical behavior that pervades in such sadistic religious communities even today. The Catholic Film Office was enraged by the accusations made by Rivette through this film, which was banned for two years by the censors, which of course helped the film to receive an even more notorious status and be screened at Cannes. The irony is found in the fact that the film literally opens with an explicit disclaimer stating that nothing is supposed to be taken as a representation that totalizes the lifestyle of the 18th Century, nor taken as a generalized representation of the Catholic Church. Which is TRUE. So who was the responsible for its ban? The Catholic Film Office, of course *coughs*. Maybe nothing hurts more than the truth... I am personally baffled that, given the conservatism of the era (which is lived even today with approximately the same intensity given the status of the Catholic Church as an "institution" on par with some national governments), the film wasn't banned, well, forever, if not for a whole decade. Here's why. Cinema today, more importantly Europe, and even more specifically Spain, France, Ireland and the U.K., releases furious statements of international distribution every time that they treat a story that takes place in a convent. Perhaps the best example is <i>The Magdalene Sisters</i> (2002). <i>La Religieuse</i> is an important cinematic predecessor, as I am concerned, preceding even the religious condemnations that exploded during the 70s in the sensuous and exploitative form of nunsploitation. What remains most shocking about Rivette's adaptation is that it doesn't really condemn anything. On the contrary, it presents a series of events in the perfectly known art of dramatization that characterizes cinema remaining neutral, as an observer. It even takes the bold step of showing the sexual mysery in which the nuns live, fantasizing better lives outside of their vows and experimenting among themselves. And the Catholic Church is not particularly fond of homosexuality, either. A film thematically ahead of its time and that presented a known topic in a different fashion and with some scandalous subject matter, <b>including a priest that also confesses that he was forced onto his profession</b>, Rivette's film is gorgeous to look at, with a powerhouse performance by the diva of the French New Wave, who proved everybody to be one actress of the highest order. The film's ending statement is the most important for all, and marvelously summarizes the problems with religious institutions today: organizations driven by people without the aid of God inflicts harm on others and equals lunacy. 87/100 Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member The evocation of period is haunting with cobbled, dust-ridden sets and costume work that doesn't distract. But ahead of everything else is Anna Karina's enormously powerful performance which takes us to the very depths of desperation and to the very zenith of hope. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Fanatismo religioso, repressão, crueldades, hipocrisias. Está tudo aqui. No fim, a platéia já antecipa todas as desgraças ainda por vir e ri, porque, claro, não há mais nada a fazer... Bom filme. Agora, resta ver a nova versão que deve chegar em breve. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Da obra do filósofo Denis Diderot, baseado em fatos reais. Uma bela cusparada na cara. Ótimo. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Nun

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Cast & Crew

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles 95% 79% Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Watchlist Leon Morin, Priest 96% 85% Leon Morin, Priest Watchlist Maria Chapdelaine 82% 72% Maria Chapdelaine Watchlist Toni 100% 89% Toni Watchlist Lovers 100% 52% Lovers Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Suzanne (Anna Karina) unwillingly joins a religious order, but the presence of the kindly mother superior, Mme. de Moni (Micheline Presle), makes life seem bearable. When Mme. de Moni dies, though, she is replaced by Sister Sainte-Christine (Francine Bergé), a sadistic disciplinarian with a grudge against Suzanne. Suzanne obtains a transfer to a different convent -- until she discovers that her new abbess, Mme. de Chelles (Liselotte Pulver), is a sexual predator.
Director
Jacques Rivette
Producer
Georges de Beauregard
Screenwriter
Jean Gruault, Jacques Rivette
Production Co
Rome Paris Films, Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jan 4, 2019
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 17, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$30.2K
Runtime
2h 35m