THE NUN'S STORY

REVIEWED BY CHRIS SMITH

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: disturbing sequences of violence

Rated:

A Nun's Story follows the journey of Gabrielle Van Der Mal (Audrey Hepburn), a young, bright woman who enters the convent with dreams of being a nurse in Africa. But of the many nuns who enter this convent, few ever arrive in Africa. Her intelligence is not enough: the Congo is reserved only for those perfected in the religious life. Gabrielle, known in the convent as Sister Luke, spends years in practice of this achievement so that she may be allowed to pursue her dreams. But one demand of the religious life is to detach from one's own desires. In order to to reach the Congo, she must cease desiring it.

She begins to fear that she may never reach Africa. She is sent as a nurse to a mental institution. Her sisters are seeking their own gain. She fails to keep the rules of the convent. At each turn, strain is put upon her; when will she feel release? Will she break before she is perfected? Why is it so hard for her? When she does make the trip to Africa, she is gladdened and relieved. Surely following the Holy Rule will be easier here. But Africa has heartache, exhaustion, misery, and death in store for her. She begins to feel that her religious life and medical life are contradicting each other. Will she choose to be a nun or a nurse? And love begins to kindle in her heart... a love her habit forbids.

Audrey Hepburn makes this movie a masterpiece. Watch Hepburn's eyes; they almost tell the story themselves. The supporting roles are solid and Colleen Dewhurst is truly unsettling as the Archangel. However great this movie is, not everyone will like it. The only film about nuns I had ever seen prior to this was The Bells of St. Mary's. When we first rented this, I was expecting something very similar -- an upbeat story about life in a convent. Was I in for a surprise! A Nun's Story could best be described as a claustrophobic psychological drama. There are two mild abuses of deity uttered by a woman in distress. The only sexual content is some rather revealing (or nonexistent) costumes of the Congo people. There is one scene where a woman partially disrobes, but it isn't revealing or offensive. What is disturbing is the violence. A nun is beaten to death (we see the attackers arm swing and hear the blows, but nothing else is shown) and another is viciously attacked (her clothes are torn, her face is badly scratched). Both of these scenes are not appropriate for children; watch this film on your own or have the fast forward button handy. There are also numerous scenes of extremely disfiguring diseases such as leprosy and medical sequences that may be too much for children to stomach.

Catholics may find this movie offensive as well. Most of the practices shown in the movie are no longer practiced, but the church is not portrayed as compassionate towards Hepburn's character. As a Protestant, I found much to applaud in the film's portrayal, but not everyone may see it in this way. In any event, the talking points are endless. Was Gabrielle in love with Jean? If so, why did she leave him? Was her test of humility in medical school fair? Why or why not? Was it easier or harder to keep the Holy Rule in Africa? Was she right in her final decision? Why should we keep our promises? I cannot give this 5 stars even though it's probably my favorite movie because of the strong psychological impact of the violence. But if young children are in bed, this is a wonderful film that you'll want to watch more than once.