Storia di una monaca di clausura

Well, most reviewers seem to class this as "nunsploitation" but this production is, simply, much too good to be classified as anything sleazy, in fact I felt reminded more of "The Nun's Story" than anything else. Sure, there's some nudity, but never gratuitous - even the "sisterly love" and corporal punishment scenes were handled with taste and respect. And there's real acting here, some very intense and touching scenes. The costumes and sets are simple but top-notch, the music is good, camera and light are not outstanding but serviceable, and the story progresses at a slow (fitting the theme) but relentless pace - never during the 90min runtime did I feel the need to fast-forward.

The story itself is simple enough, with the young heroine banned to a convent against her will - from there it progresses along predictable ways as she slowly gets to know the ways of the convent, a community balanced on a precarious equilibrium of powers, centered around the mother superior on the one hand and sister Elisabeth on the other (a simple nun but with family connections up to the archbishop). The mistrust between everyone is palpable, every small gesture, condescending look and so on carries meaning. Despite the slow pace the tension is high all the way through. It's no surprise that the balanced powers come crashing down in the last act, still I was a bit shocked about how cruel the resolution was. The post-credits claim that this is based on true events; I don't want to dig deeper but the bleak ending does indeed have a most realistic appeal.

Possibly the best of the Italian "Nunsploitationers" – even if, apart from ample nudity (the violence here is quite mild), the film's character-driven nature is liable to disappoint hardened genre fans…not to mention a denouement which could be deemed anti-climactic! It was made by the same people behind THE NUN AND THE DEVIL (1973; see above) yet, being inspired by real events and therefore more 'serious' in tone than its predecessor, director Paolella was not afraid to attach his name to it. While the plot per se is rather thin and offers no real surprises (especially after having watched 9 of these in a brief span of time!), the end result is immeasurably elevated by spot-on central casting: Catherine Spaak (as a rebellious bisexual nun), Suzy Kendall (as the quietly perturbed Mother Superior) and Eleonora Giorgi (arguably the loveliest actress to feature in this type of film and whom the makers miss no opportunity to parade sans clothing); by the way, Martine Brochard from the previous film returns in the role of a crazy nun. The males figure less prominently this time around – even Umberto Orsini is no more than a narcissist relishing his prohibited liaison with a cloistered nun (Spaak). Following on from THE NUN AND THE DEVIL, Piero Piccioni contributes another lush yet moody score to complement the film's striking visuals (courtesy of cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi, a Pasolini regular, and the stark production design). Interestingly, the credits are accompanied by stills depicting vintage artwork but also scenes from the previous film itself!; a small gripe I have with this particular presentation of STORY OF A CLOISTERED NUN is that the admittedly tiny English subtitles are non-removable (which, being fluent in Italian, I did not require).

Quite a surprise, this one, not at all your usual, sex and violence, nunsploitation but a much more measured and ravishingly beautiful film. Much effort has been made to give this a most believable slant and indeed claims to have been based on true accounts. It certainly has the feel of something much more than mere exploitation and it has to be said that whilst the usual ingredients make appearances they are more realistic than is usual and in some ways the more erotic for that. I see from my records that I did see this film years ago on video and was not very impressed, so whether I was disappointed, at the time, by the lack of usual goings on or unable to fully appreciate the movie without the crisp and colourful image now presented, I know not. In any event a most impressive outing.

A beautiful nunsploitation epic,sweet and tender where the lovely Eleonora Giorgi plays a blond virgin forced to live behind convent walls. Catherine Spaak is excellent and even more sexy than she was in her early giallos. Suzy Kendall is beautifull in the role of the mother superior who want to be a new mother for her "sister" Carmella She's more sensitive and sad than ever. I prefer this one as THE NUNS OF ST ARCHANGELLO also from Domenico Paolela. beautifull photography, beautifull music, beautifull nuns...

This is one of the earlier Italian "nunsploitation" films and as such may disappoint those expecting a Joe D'Amato style sex romp like "Images in a Convent" or the bloody satanic pandemonium of the later Jess Franco/Hispanic variety. It is also not nearly as gruelingly realistic and incendiary as "Flavia, the Heretic", probably the best of these films. It most resembles the two films before it--"The Nuns of St. Archangel" and "The Sinful Nuns of St. Valentines". These films don't quite make up a trilogy since they are all more or less the same. A young woman is confined to a convent after she refuses a marriage arranged by her strict father. There she finds herself caught between the kindly but strict Mother Superior and a libertine bisexual nun from an influential family who is able to obtain favors like drunken, naked parties and rendezvous with men on the outside. After the young nun becomes pregnant by her boyfriend a scandal erupts and all the nuns have to unite against a common enemy--the corrupt and brutal patriarchal authority.

Although the story is pretty mind-numbing, this movie really works because of the acting. Suzie Kendall really manages to flesh out what is usually a pretty two dimensional Mother Superior role. Catherine Spaak is equally good as the wicked, libertine nun. Eleanora Giorgi plays the young novice, the role occupied by Ornella Muti and Jenny Tamburi in earlier movies, and she is more than adequate. And if you don't blink you might also see an early unclothed appearance by Paola Senatore who was later in "Images in a Convent" (and apparently hardcore Italian porn). There is some nudity, mostly by the beautiful Giorgi and the extras (Kendall, characteristically, and Spaak, quite uncharacteristically, both keep their habits on), but there is a general lack of the depravity fans have come to expect from this genre. There is one scene where Giorgi (half-naked, of course) is tied up and whipped, and a scene where Spaak is made to crawl across the floor licking it with her tongue--a striking if perhaps not really very erotic image.

This is kind of tame but definitely worth watching, especially for nunsploitation fans and other demented perverts.