Flávia - A Freira Muçulmana

There is so much that can be said about this film. It is not your typical nunsploitation. Of course, there is nudity and sex with nuns, but that is almost incidental to the story.

It is set in 15th Century Italy, at the time of the martyrdom of 800 Christians at Otranto. The battle between the Muslims and the Christians takes up a good part of the film. It was interesting when everyone was running from the Muslim hoards, that the mother superior would ask, "Why do you fear the Muslims,; they will not do anything that the Christians have done to you?" Certainly, there was enough torture on both sides.

Sister Flavia (Florinda Bolkan) is sent to a convent for defying her father. In the process, she witnesses and endures many things: the gelding of a stallion, the rape of a local woman by a new Duke, the torture of a nun who was overcome during a visit by the Tarantula Sect, and a whipping herself when she ran off with a Jew. The torture was particularly gruesome with hot wax being poured on the nun, and her nipples cut off.

Sister Flavia is bound to continue to get into trouble as she questions the male-dominated society in which she lives. She even asks Jesus, why the father, son and holy ghost are all men.

Eventually, she joins the leader of the Muslims as his lover and they sack the convent. Here is where you see more flesh than you can possible enjoy at one time. But, tragedy is to come. She manages to exact sweet revenge on all, including the Duke and her father, but finds that the Muslim lover treats her exactly the same. She is a woman and that is all there is to it.

I won't describe what the holy men of the church did to this heretic at the end, but it predates the torture of Saw or Hostel by decades.

Nunsploitation fans will be satisfied with the treats, but movie lovers will find plenty of meat to digest.

A young woman is sent to a nunnery by her domineering father in 15th century southern Italy, while there she is subject and witness to many atrocities. She later flees and becomes the lover of the leader of an invading Muslim army and with his muscle underpinning her; she enacts grisly revenge on those who have wronged her.

Flavia the Heretic is one of the prime examples of the sub-genre known as nunsploitation. Along with The Devils (1971), it combines some serious drama along with gruesome exploitative material. Although it could be argued that in both of these films the nasty scenes are pretty necessary in reflecting the grimness of their respective stories. Both films look at the dubious actions of the church in the middle ages but Flavia more specifically has a feminist outlook as well and considers the role of women at that time. Consequently, this is an unusually serious minded bit of nunsploitation. It is considerably helped in this regard by a standout turn from the always impressive Florinda Bolkan in the lead role. She essays the emotional story arc of Flavia quite expertly and certainly elevates the drama of the story. This is a very interesting central female character of a type you don't see very often leading a movie, especially in a film of this type.

In regards to the more visceral aspects, there were a few very grim scenes of torture and graphic excess, including a borderline unwatchable castration of a horse and a gruesome climax. Some of the horrible scenes have a definite overall point though, such as a sequence where a rich and decadent duke rapes a servant girl in a pig sty. It's a scene that illustrates the way that women were treated like animals by the ruling classes who were at liberty to act as they saw fit. On the whole, Flavia the Heretic is an Italian genre film with a more art-house sensibility than was typical. It provides both vicarious thrills and something to actually think about. And that's not a bad achievement really.

This is the most notorious of the "nunsploitation" movies but it's also very atypical of the genre (if "nunsploitation" can be called a genre). For one thing it is serious, believable, and fairly historically accurate. For another thing it generally avoids being merely crass exploitation. There is sex and nudity but it is all in the context of the film. There is also A LOT of violence, but it is truly unpleasant and ugly violence--it is obviously not meant to simply titillate the audience. (I actually saw the edited version but I doubt it is any less powerful--what you picture in your mind when you realize what is happening on screen is at least as terrible as anything that could have been achieved with cheesy 1970's special effects). This film could also be considered part of the "rape-revenge" genre except that after the rape and revenge there is in turn yet more revenge against the avenging woman, and each time the violence escalates a little more until all the characters are tainted and the movie ends up being a wholesale condemnation of human cruelty and a powerful statement on the ultimate futility of violence. I'm sure many people will find this movie tasteless or offensive but when you consider how many movies--especially mainstream Hollywood movies--glorify and romanticize violence, presenting it as a valid way to resolve any problem, you truly realize how courageous and refreshing a movie like this is.

In 1400, in Puglia, Southern Italy, the nobleman father of Flavia (Florinda Bolkan) beheads her lover and locks her away in a seaside convent. Flavia questions the submissive treatment of women and is submitted to the repressive Catholic system in the convent. When Flavia has the chance, she flees from the convent with the Jew friend Abraham (Claudio Cassinelli). However, they are captured by her father and Flavia is whipped and Abraham is imprisoned in the dungeons. During the Musulman invasion of Italy, Flavia becomes the lover of their Muslin leader Ahmed (Anthony Corlan) and uses him to revenge against the nuns that have humiliated her and her father.

I was curious to see this 1978 movie of nunsploitation, not because I am fan of this subgenre of exploitation film, but because of the Brazilian Florinda Bolkan. "Flavia, la Monaca Musulmana" is a brutal nunsploitation, associating the usual themes of sexual repression and religious oppression with revenge. There is no historical background and most of the situations are only pretext for nudity, torture and violence. Now I am satisfied but this film is only recommended to very specific audiences since it is very offensive specially for religious viewers. In the Extras of the DVD, there is an interview with Florinda Bolkan. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Flávia, a Freira Muçulmana" ("Flavia, the Muslin Nun")

Flavia(Florinda Bolkan of "Don't Torture a Duckling" fame)is locked away in a convent of carnal desires by her father.Tired of all of the sadism she sees around her(rape of a young woman in a pigsty,sexual cravings,horse castration)Flavia decides to run from the convent with her Jewish friend from the outside,Abraham.The two don't get very far before they are captured and then brought back to be tortured and forced to repent.After punishment she joins up with a band of Muslims called the Tarantulas,who had invaded the convent prior and leads a crusade that turns into nothing short of a bloody battle behind the convent walls."Flavia the Heretic" is a well-directed and fairly notorious piece of Italian nunsploitation.The film is slightly gruesome and sleazy at times.The acting is great and the characters are well-developed.Overall,"Flavia the Heretic" is a genuinely moving and intelligent movie with plenty of nudity and gore.You can't go wrong with it.8 out of 10.