Mother Joan of the Angels
Thérèse
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Mother Joan of the Angels (Matka Joanna od Aniolów)
Directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
With Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska.
Poland, 1961, 35mm, black & white, 105 min.
Polish with English subtitles.
Print source: Harvard Film Archive
A Marxist study of the supernatural, filled with austere, sharply photographed black-and-white images, Kawalerowicz's best known film abroad is based on the actual events which occurred at a monastery near Loudun, where a group of nuns experienced a Satanic possession. Through dense dramatic conflicts, expressionistic settings, and powerful performances, Kawalerowicz created a psychologically and philosophically complex allegory of good versus evil and chastity versus eroticism.
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Thérèse
Directed by Alain Cavalier.
With Catherine Mouchet, Hélène Alexandridis, Aurore Prieto.
France, 1986, 35mm, color, 94 min.
French with English subtitles.
Print source: Harvard Film Archive
Based on the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun who died at a young age and was later canonized, Alain Cavalier's film offers an observational portrait of a woman driven by divine inspiration. Catherine Mouchet portrays the young nun who devoted her life to her beliefs, only to succumb to tuberculosis at age twenty-four. Cavalier's visual style recalls late Bresson with his use of minimalist props, costumes, and settings, which bring life to this transcendental figure.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Ballad of a Soldier / The Forty-First
Nightfall / Great Day in the Morning
Verboten! / Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
I'll Never Forget What's 'is Name / The Jokers
Hearts of the World / True Heart Susie
Anna Christie / The Long Voyage Home
Suddenly Last Summer / The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
Quiet Days in Clichy / Henry and June
The Freshman / The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
The Sheep Has Five Legs / The Law is the Law
Hobson's Choice / Sidewalks of London
I Know Where I'm Going / Outcast of the Islands
An Inspector Calls / The Belles of St. Trinian's
Mother Joan of the Angels / Thérèse
Dawn of the Dead / Strange Behavior
