Storia di una monaca di clausura

Italian nunsploitation set in Italy in the 1600s. A young noblewoman named Carmela, promised as a child in an arranged marriage, decides instead she wants to marry a lover of her choice. This brings huge disgrace on her family. The only solution is for them to have her forcibly admitted to a convent, as becoming a nun is the one socially acceptable reason for backing out of the deal. The convent (surprise) turns out to be a hotbed of drinking, partying, and same-sex relationships. Carmela's arrival creates increased tensions in an already strained relationship between the Mother Superior and a Sister Elisabeth, as both women take a romantic interest in the new arrival. She isn't interested in either of them in that way, and only wishes to escape and rejoin her lover so that they can wed.

Despite sounding like the usual sleazy nun-fest, it actually isn't. There's some nudity, including one flogging; but the story has some substance and the characters are fleshed-out (no pun intended) to the point where you actually care about them. British actress (and giallo queen) Suzy Kendall gets to show her acting chops for once as the Mother Superior (a role that Joan Collins was to play, before she backed out), the late, beautiful Catherine Spaak is great as the scheming Sister Elisabeth, and the gorgeous Eleonora Giorgi (in her first lead role) makes an impression as the radiant Carmela. Some nunsploitation fans might find themselves feeling a bit let down it's not.. sleazier, and it's a tad slow at times with a few scenes feeling over-long; but it's certainly a change to see one of these that doesn't rely solely on T&A to draw an audience. 6.5/10.

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...

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.

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.

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.