La religieuse (1966)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Jacques Rivette

Writers:

Denis Diderot (novel)
Jean Gruault (writer)

Release Date:

8 July 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In eighteenth-century France a girl (Suzanne Simonin) is forced against her will to take vows as a nun...

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Religion | Based On Novel

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anna Karina	...	Suzanne
Liselotte Pulver	...	Mme de Chelles
Micheline Presle	...	Mme de Moni
Francine Bergé	...	Soeur Sainte-Christine
Francisco Rabal	...	Dom Morel
Christiane Lénier	...	Mme Simonin
Yori Bertin	...	Soeur Saint-Thérèse
Catherine Diamant	...	Soeur Saint-Ursule
Gilette Barbier	...	Soeur Saint-Jean
Annik Morice	...	Soeur Saint-Jéròme
Danielle Palmero	...	Soeur Saint-Clément
Françoise Godde	...	La domestique
Jean Martin	...	Monsieur Hébert
Marc Eyraud	...	Le père Seraphin
Charles Millot	...	Monsieur Simonin

Also Known As:

Suzanne Simonin, la Religieuse de Denis Diderot
The Nun (USA)

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | France:-18 | West Germany:18

Company:

Rome Paris Films

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Suzanne plays and sings the song "Plaisir D'Amour". The final title card identifies the time and place as 'Paris, 1760', but the song was not composed until 1785.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in La chinoise (1967)

Soundtrack:

Plaisir D'Amour

Jansenist

Although Jacques Rivette was labeled "new wave","la religieuse" is actually an austere work,a bit academic,very close to the pre-new wave generation,very close to Jean Delannoy.By far ,one of the two most palatable works by highbrow Rivette (the other one being the umpteenth version of Joan of Arc,thanks to Sandrine Bonnaire's portrayal).Needless to say ,all other Rivette works are "intellectual" works ,reserved for the happy(?) few ,and they will make yawn your head off.

"La religieuse" caused a big scandal when it was released in the mid-sixties.The Church insisted on calling the movie "Suzanne Simonin ,la religieuse de Diderot".

Released with a PG 18, the movie seems harmless today:yes there's a lesbian nun ,but the crowds have seen worse since.It's a jansenist work,with a very slow pace,faithful to Diderot's novel-which anyway depicted an improbable situation:they did not lock the girls in nunneries anymore ,it was a thing of the past in the XVIII th century-,except for the ending ,but Rivette's one makes sense all in all.

The cinematography is beautiful and anti-nouvelle vague,the actresses convincing:Micheline Presles,a saint of a nun,Anna Karina, her cruel mother's unfortunate victim,and Liselotte Pulver,a bon vivant character who's got a crush on Suzanne .