Janice M
It is very depressing. It sounds like they are just submissive to the mother superior. They just break their spirit so they have no mind of their own. It was very informative about the Catholic church. Mostly man made rules. I don't see a lot of what they do in the Bible.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
11/22/23
Full Review
X O
Why I hate, despise, religion. Just the same political shit humanity goes through even outside of religion. Religion is disgauting. The biggest scam ever put on humanity. So much bullsht, like politics is now. There is no peace in religion, except, at best, Shintoism. Hylozoism is very interesting, too.
It's so interesting, sadly, how some people gravitate to politics as a means of connection, but only to power, not empowerment. Only weak people do this.
Great acting, of course, but so, so, so sad to put anyone through this. Religion is a scam. Get over it. Borne from money. That's the core problem.
I feel for humanity and the crap it puts itself through.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
11/07/23
Full Review
Pamela H
Melissa Leo and Margaret Qualley are magnificent in this gripping, disturbing story. For me it was an expose of some of the violence I've witnessed growing up in the Catholic Church. It was very triggering. I spent 3 days in second grade in a Catholic School in the 1950s and the teachings and violence scarred me for life. The whole "bride of Christ" thing with the wedding dresses is almost unwatchable. It is disturbingly grotesque. This is a hard to watch movie, but extremely well done.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/17/23
Full Review
Ida N
Superb directing. Although considering the number of characters it would have worked better as a mini-series.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
07/31/23
Full Review
matthew r
Very well done and intimate look at the life of nuns and the process of becoming a nun prior to the results of the Vatican II. Excellent acting all the way around and a profound look at the nuns and their relationships with their God, their society, with each other and with themselves. Symbolism and ceremony abound without any feeling of being preached to. I heartily recommend.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
As a Catholic, I had some reservations about watching this film. But I gave it a view, and on the first watch, I was a bit confused but overall intrigued. It took me another watch to actually "get it" and appreciate what it was saying.
Granted, this film was made by a secular company, so it's not going to necessarily be a love letter to the Catholic Church. But in a way, I'm glad it's not. The 1960s were tumultuous, and the Church was certainly affected by it, and I think it's important to show the truth rather than to sugarcoat things. Vatican II really shook people, and while some readily embraced it, and some wanted even more reforms brought about, others were shocked and heart broken by all the sudden changes. It was a real mixed bag of emotions from Catholics alike, all against the backdrop of Vietnam, women's liberation, civil rights movements, student movements, and a major generational shift in the way society functioned.
So for someone like the character of Reverend Mother (and most of the other nuns) in the film, Vatican II was this radical, iconoclastic phenomenon that meant uncertainty and ruin. Not to mention, a lot of nuns felt it was a slap in the face not to have been consulted on a matter that very much affected them.
For others like Sister Grace and some of the younger novitiates in the film, Vatican II meant freedom, being part of the future, keeping up with the times. Then you had those in the middle like Sister Cathleen or Sister Emmanuelle who were conflicted and seeking an identity as a Catholic amidst the change. Vatican II, while contributing to a lot of good reforms, did "lift the veil" on a lot of the Church's mysticism, and stripped a bit of the ancient feel it previously had (Mass said in Latin, priest not facing the congregation, nuns having a higher status, nuns being required to wear habits, etc).
The second time I watched it, my two great-aunts, both of whom were Sacred Heart nuns during Vatican II, watched it with me. They sympathized with both Reverend Mother and the young novitiates, understanding where both were coming from. While they loved being nuns and wouldn't have changed their vocations if they could go back, they did admit that a lot of the self-sacrifice penances at the time were extreme and ultimately did more harm than good. At the end of the day, nuns were still humans and capable of being cruel just as any of us could be. Whether that was prompted by Vatican II or not, that's an explanation but not an excuse for unkindness.
A lot of older nuns at the time, according to my aunts, tended to be colder, more clinical in their devotion, strict in following tradition, slower to embrace change, preferred contemplation and cloister. As depicted in the film between Emmanuelle and Cathleen specifically, some young novitiates were a bit touch-starved, overwhelmed, and lonely at this drastic change in lifestyle, which is natural. To go from family and friends and physical contact to lots of rules, draining spiritual-existential turmoil (as depicted in the examination of conscience scenes), and self-sacrificial penance — it's going to take a toll on most people, no matter how strong your faith is.
Into and after Vatican II, younger nuns were warmer, more willing to go out and mix with the community for service work, a bit quicker to adjust to changes, and acted more like friends/big sisters to the novitiates rather than parents (which was what the older nuns did). It might've been a generational thing. My aunt, when she was a novitiate at 18, was taken under the wing of a nun who was about 27, and it was very a much big sister-little sister dynamic. But when my aunt was upset or struggling spiritually, she always turned to Reverend Mother for support. She said she was fortunate to have a Mother Superior who was patient and understanding and made the Vatican II transition with grace.
The film does a fantastic job depicting the young novitiates and their reasons for entering the convent. Some are silly and innocently misguided, such as one girl saying she joined because she admired Audrey Hepburn's character as a nun. Another girl says it was her parents' wish to have a daughter become a nun, another says she's there because a lot of her relatives are in the religious vocation. The main character, Sister Cathleen, seems to be in it for the right reasons, but she is a reflection of naivety and blind faith. She's searching for meaning in life, which ultimately results in her breakdown later. We don't know a lot about Sister Emmanuelle, just that she left her previous order to join a stricter one, but she too is searching for meaning in all this. It's mentioned toward the end that she left this convent as well, having become either disillusioned like Sister Grace or seeking another convent that suits her better.
Sister Grace is an interesting character study, just like Reverend Mother. She is presented as a sweet, more laid back young nun who is the foil to Reverend Mother's traditionalism. She bonds with Sister Cathleen and the other novitiates. There's subtext that implies Reverend Mother and Sister Grace used to be close, but with Vatican II, they've reached an ideological divide in terms of what's best for the Church's future. It's understood that Reverend Mother used to see her younger self in Sister Grace, and in turn, Sister Grace sees her young self in Sister Cathleen. But unlike Reverend Mother who clings to the old ways, Sister Grace is eager to see change.
Reverend Mother, in several scenes, is shown crying out to God, asking for His guidance, beseeching Him to tell her what to do. It's a very emotional plea, and it's her Garden of Gethsemane moment. She calls out for God as Jesus called out His Father, and gets silence in return. This is a point that's brought up a lot in the film, by other novitiates as well. This lack of response from God. A few novitiates lament how hard it is to believe in someone, to love someone, to sacrifice for someone who doesn't directly make Himself known. Reverend Mother condemns these worries by the novitiates, though she herself shares the same struggle in private. It presents the dichotomy of "do as I say, not as I do," on the part of Reverend Mother to the novitiates, and it spurs Reverend Mother to keep many of her worries and inner turmoil unhealthily to herself. This accounts for her emotional outbursts both to others and to God.
There are two times she allows herself to worry aloud. The first is to the visiting Archbishop who, though is right about stopping extreme penance, shuts Reverend Mother down and doesn't take her opinion seriously. The other time is to Sister Cathleen who meets Reverend Mother's vocalized distress with fear and renewed doubt in her own choice to take her final vows.
In one of the more moving scenes, Reverend Mother lets out those pent-up feelings while she reads some of the new principles of Vatican II to the rest of the older nuns. She, along with others, tear up, cry, and are visibly shocked and heart broken. It's a stark contrast to the young novitiates who are giddily dressing for their final vows, oblivious to the old world that gave those nuns their identities. They are getting ready to walk down the aisle and in turn walk into the future, while the older nuns remain seated, symbolizing their feeling of being stuck and helpless to change.
There's a lot of metaphorical meaning in the placement of eye contact in the film as well. When eyes are downcast, custody of the eyes, characters are compliant and peace is restored. When eyes are at level, characters are experiencing confrontation, an exchange of ideas, acknowledgement of one another. Thirdly, when eyes are raised to the heavens, characters are questioning, struggling, having an epiphany, creating an imbalance of peace. Sister Cathleen begins the film with her eyes at level before she enters the convent, then downcast as a postulant/novitiate, and finally she raises them at the very end before taking her final vows.
In the end, no one's ideology wins or loses per se. It's left ambiguous and uncertain, just like the sentiment of the characters. You feel for the older nuns, you feel for the novitiates. It's a glimpse at an order, that while fictional, is a reflection of many orders at this time. The disruption of life, the chaos, the confusion, the desire to change, the desire to slow down, the wish to be heard, and the wish for meaning.
Definitely give the film a viewing or two. In my opinion, the film doesn't demonize the Church nor praise it. While it can be a bit uncomfortable, I think that's the point. It's supposed to make you introspect and think critically about the psychological effect of Vatican II from different characters' perspectives.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
Full Review
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