The Nun 2013

     This film is adapted from a novel by Denis Didertot. The setting is France of the 1760’s.  Suzanne Simonin is a beautiful girl with a natural talent for music.  Her parents send her off to a convent and they expect her to take vows to be a nun.  Her family has exhausted their resources to marry her two elder sisters.  They have nothing left for Suzanne.  She resists the rules of the convent and she’s made the decision not to take her vows.  Her family has come to see her ceremony but they end up taking her home.  Her mother explains Suzanne’s circumstances and choices to her.  She agrees to go back to the convent and she does join the order but she manages to obtain a lawyer who will help her renounce her vows.  This will require an order from the Pope in Rome. 

     This is very interesting and I doubt this is an isolated event.  Hence the quote spoken by Hamlet, “Get thee to a nunnery!”  Suzanne doesn’t have choices but she has a lot of strength and courage.  She is nearly broken in her quest for release but she continues to persevere.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

112 min, Drama directed by Guillaumne Nicloux with Pauline Etienne, Isabelle Huppert, Louise Bourgoin, Martina Gedeck, Francoise Lebrun, Agathe Bonitzer, Alice de Lencquesaing, Gilles Cohen, Marc Barbe.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 75% critic 71% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Metascore 51/100, The Hollywood Reporter 60/100, Variety 50/100.

Special Note:  The filming locations were Bronnbach Monastery, Baden-Wurtemberg, Germany and Rhone-Alpes, France.  This film was also released in 1966 and it has an Imdb rating of 8.0.