Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo

There are some really scandalous nunsploitation films available for those who want to indulge their fantasies or prurient interests. This is not one of them. Before you go running away, however, you should know that this film is well worth watching for the quality of the film.

It is all about the machinations that go on in and out of a convent after the Mother Superior dies. Three nuns: Mother Giulia (Anne Heywood), Mother Chiara (Martine Brochard), and Mother Livinia (Maria Cumani Quasimodo) are vying for the position of Mother Superior.

The latter two have very wealthy and influential connections on the outside. Sister Giulia uses poison to get rid of one rival, and is going to expose the other's immorality with a man. This is easy for her as her rival is bisexual and her lesbian lover. No, we don't get to see Heywood in the buff, but we do see Brochard.

Another player in this game is a young, virginal novitiate, that also happens to be the niece of Mother Giula. Isabella (Ornella Muti) was put in the convent to get her away from her boyfriend. Mother Giula is using her to get a nobleman on her side. What she doesn't know is that Isabella and her boyfriend have been secretly meeting at the convent, and now they will have a chance to be together.

The sets are exquisite and the story is compelling. There is some nudity, but it is just the right amount for the story, not exploitative.

There is a torture scene, including water-boarding at an inquisition to discover the truth behind the campaign. Cardinal d'Arezzo (Claudio Gora) screams for more torture. He is a symbol of the evil and corruption in the church at the time.

Justice is meted out for some sinners, but certainly not for all.

Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo" (1975), directed by Domenico Paolella, is a film that attempts to blend the sensuality of the nunsploitation genre with a historical drama. The film stars Anne Heywood, Ornella Muti, and Pier Paolo Capponi, among others, and follows the story of a convent in 16th-century Italy where the nuns struggle with their vows of chastity and obedience.

The film's strongest aspect is its visual appeal. The cinematography captures the opulence and beauty of the Italian Renaissance, with lavish sets and costumes that transport the viewer to another time and place. The performances of the lead actors are also noteworthy, particularly Anne Heywood as the conflicted Mother Superior and Ornella Muti as the rebellious young novice.

However, the film's narrative falls short of its visual promise. The storyline is convoluted and often feels disjointed, with a number of subplots that never quite come together. The exploration of themes such as sexual repression, religious hypocrisy, and political intrigue is ambitious, but the execution is often heavy-handed and melodramatic.

Moreover, the film's handling of its central theme - the struggle between spirituality and sensuality - is problematic. While it aims to critique the repressive nature of the Catholic Church, it often veers into exploitation territory, with gratuitous scenes of nudity and sexual violence that feel more exploitative than thought-provoking.

Overall, "Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo" is a film that offers some visual and performative pleasures, but ultimately fails to deliver a cohesive or thoughtful narrative.

The obvious film to compare this to is Ken Russell's 'The Devils'. Both films are explorations of cloister depravity and resulting inquisitions. Neither are exploitation movies. 'The Devils' didn't really try and be erotic, it was more a portrait of human insanity from a spiritual dark age. 'Monache di Sant'Arcangelo' has higher moral currency because it is a purposeful exploration of the subjugation of women. There's erotic value of course, but it's not gratuitous. The suppression of human sexuality can of course be used as fodder for Women-In-Prison movies or nunsploitation but also polemically. There is a lot of scope in such movies as this, one example I have seen championed is Jesus Franco's 'Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun' (1977) which is a criticism of Catholic patriarchy. Basically the movie says that the convents are used to house affluent undesirables and heaps upon the hypocrisy of the Cardinal and his vicar. Not that I would say any of the political comment in this movie is particularly trenchant.

Whilst I'm sure that such polemic was one of the main aims of the film, the main success is to be found in the love stories. Indeed it wouldn't surprise me if this movie became some sort of lesbian underground hit, because the dynamics of the relationships in the movie are quite well done. Sister Chiara's obsessive love for example for Mother Julia is very carefully studied: After Chiara is given the cold shoulder in favour of the young initiate Agnes, she takes to self-mutilation and writing poison pen letters about the nunnery to His Eminence. When they are back together again Chiara, even though she realises that the resurrected relationship is likely to be due to Julia's fear of blackmail is content to live the lie. It's clear to me though that Mother Julia felt much regret over her abandonment of Chiara, when they are back together she tenderly kisses the scars on Chiara's knees that were caused by her purposefully kneeling on broken glass. In another scene she feels remorse when she sees that Chiara has deliberately cut herself on the thorns of a bunch of roses. She is also unable to tolerate the torture of her lover. Basically it's the sapphic romance of the movie that really works well. As laudable as the politics of the film are that part of the director's vision lacked pathos. Basically the men in the movie deliver their lines flatly and the scriptwriter didn't appear to have any passion for the politics of the period.

It's always intrigued me to see relationships unimpinged by hidden breeder agendas, to look at unhinged love. This film provides ample opportunity.

It might be of interest to readers to look at the structure of the film, it is really rather like a Jacobean tragedy in many respects. We have the gratuitous and unexpected murder of Pietro, we have the Machiavellian political powerplays and joustings, the immorality of the cast - principally Don Carlos - and the scenes of torture. And then there is the protagonist's monologue, this time delivered by Julia to the inquisitorial priests, quite similar to the repentance of d'Amville from Cyril Tourneur's Jacobean play 'The Atheist's Tragedy'.

'Monache di Sant'Arcangelo' lacks great production values for me. Others will say that they are a cut above other nunsploitation movies and they are right. However this movie is still pretty unpolished compared to other period movies even though it tries very hard. This won't matter to you too much if you are interested in this film because of the dynamics of the relationships. In that sense it is successful as, say, Fassbinder's 'The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant'.

I can't give the movie higher than 7/10 however because some of the major set pieces, like a poor soufflé, fail to rise to the occasion.

Yet another Stendhal-inspired "Nunsploitationer" in the vein of THE NUN OF MONZA (1969) and ABBESS OF CASTRO (1974) – incidentally, MONZA's Anne Heywood dons the habit here as well, while Pier Paolo Capponi appears in all three (in this case, he is a lecherous nobleman). Actually, the film's German title translates to THE NUN OF VERONA: with this in mind, the absurd English moniker is utterly misleading…not to mention liable to confuse it with Jerzy Kawalerowicz' much superior THE DEVIL AND THE NUN aka MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (1961)! It emerges somewhat more plot-packed than usual, with several nuns being involved in illicit/corrupt business behind convent walls: apart from Heywood (who is more of a conspirator this time around and caps her performance with an effective diatribe at the obligatory trial followed by an excruciating death scene), these include Martine Brochard, Claudia Gravy (from the weird Spaghetti Western MATALO! [1970]) and Ornella Muti (most appealing when sporting short-cropped hair and masculine attire, her role is secondary but she carries it with aplomb). The Inquisition, then, is represented by a fanatical Luc Merenda (miscast) and Cardinal Claudio Gora. The oppressive medieval atmosphere is nicely caught (though the print I got hold of, featuring a reasonable English-dubbed track, is a bit too dark – furthermore, the split between its two parts irritatingly occurs in mid-sentence!) and, while the trademark nudity and violence are certainly there, these are not particularly explicit. In the long run, THE NUN AND THE DEVIL (which comedy/peplum exponent Paolella directed under the pseudonym Paolo Dominici!) is pretty solid as "Nunsploitation" films go.

Intrigues in a 16th century Italian cloister near Verona lead to gruesome happenings. Sister Giulia, pretending to save the Mother Supreme from her sickness, is really trying to kill her in order to become Mother Supreme herself. The cardinal suspects something about sister Giulia's intrigues and raids the cloister, bringing all those who did wrong to trial...

This Italian nun movie may be called "exploitation", but it certainly offers an interesting view on some historic happenings and how it might have been back then. The film even claims to be based on a true story. Whether this is true or not, it probably isn't too far away from reality. There's not very much nudity or violence in this, so fans of sick exploitation films will probably be disappointed. Surprisingly well made, and watch out for a very young Ornella Muti in a supporting role.