Mother Joan of the Angels (1961)
(Matka Joanna od Aniolów)
Country: POL
Technical: bw 110m
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Cast: Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska, Maria Chwalibóg
Synopsis:
A devout priest arrives in the vicinity of a convent that has been the focus of considerable demonic activity, to second the efforts of four of his brethren in exorcising the reverend mother. However, he is unable to turn her away from the sin of pride without taking it upon himself.
Review:
Evidently inspired by the same events as Ken Russell's The Devils, this stunningly shot film demonstrates the old adage that less is more. The granitic black and white cinematography invites a Manicheistic reading of good versus evil, some frames consumed entirely with light or darkness. Every female character seems to offer erotic complicity, evoking the original sin of Eve leading to the sin of Cain when the only innocent characters fall victim to the axe. A rabbi consulted warns that the Church's instruments are far too blunt to get to the bottom of the matter, which goes to the hearts of men. The conclusion more than once suggested is that the Devil is just a lot more fun, and he certainly has the last laugh when the priest's compassion for Mother Joan turns to love - and fruitless self-sacrifice. The final image of the bell tolling, a daily call to lost souls returning from a forest we never see, is pointedly silent.
(Matka Joanna od Aniolów)
Country: POL
Technical: bw 110m
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Cast: Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska, Maria Chwalibóg
Synopsis:
A devout priest arrives in the vicinity of a convent that has been the focus of considerable demonic activity, to second the efforts of four of his brethren in exorcising the reverend mother. However, he is unable to turn her away from the sin of pride without taking it upon himself.
Review:
Evidently inspired by the same events as Ken Russell's The Devils, this stunningly shot film demonstrates the old adage that less is more. The granitic black and white cinematography invites a Manicheistic reading of good versus evil, some frames consumed entirely with light or darkness. Every female character seems to offer erotic complicity, evoking the original sin of Eve leading to the sin of Cain when the only innocent characters fall victim to the axe. A rabbi consulted warns that the Church's instruments are far too blunt to get to the bottom of the matter, which goes to the hearts of men. The conclusion more than once suggested is that the Devil is just a lot more fun, and he certainly has the last laugh when the priest's compassion for Mother Joan turns to love - and fruitless self-sacrifice. The final image of the bell tolling, a daily call to lost souls returning from a forest we never see, is pointedly silent.
(Matka Joanna od Aniolów)
Country: POL
Technical: bw 110m
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Cast: Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska, Maria Chwalibóg
Synopsis:
A devout priest arrives in the vicinity of a convent that has been the focus of considerable demonic activity, to second the efforts of four of his brethren in exorcising the reverend mother. However, he is unable to turn her away from the sin of pride without taking it upon himself.
Review:
Evidently inspired by the same events as Ken Russell's The Devils, this stunningly shot film demonstrates the old adage that less is more. The granitic black and white cinematography invites a Manicheistic reading of good versus evil, some frames consumed entirely with light or darkness. Every female character seems to offer erotic complicity, evoking the original sin of Eve leading to the sin of Cain when the only innocent characters fall victim to the axe. A rabbi consulted warns that the Church's instruments are far too blunt to get to the bottom of the matter, which goes to the hearts of men. The conclusion more than once suggested is that the Devil is just a lot more fun, and he certainly has the last laugh when the priest's compassion for Mother Joan turns to love - and fruitless self-sacrifice. The final image of the bell tolling, a daily call to lost souls returning from a forest we never see, is pointedly silent.