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21 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
rare diamond, 8 March 2004
10/10
Author: veidt_

It's a pity this movie isn't available on dvd or vhs - it certainly deserves a wider audience. In my opinion it is not only Kawalerowicz's ultimate masterpiece, but one of the most profound and rewarding polish movies. Based upon a novel by a foremost polish writer Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz, it plunges deeply into the intricacies of human psyche and existence, touching both the philosophical and theological issues. Very good performances, especially by Voit and Winnicka, make the story even more compelling. The movie somewhat reminds me of Andriej Tarkovsky's cinematographic explorations.

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14 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Superb Polish tale of Exorcism, 26 July 2007
9/10
Author: Prof-Hieronymos-Grost from Ireland

Father Jozef Suryn (Mieczyslaw Voit) is the latest in a long line of priests dispatched to an isolated 17th century convent to investigate the rumours of satanic obsession and possession affecting the nuns who live there. His particular task is to exorcise Mother Joan of the Angels,(Lucyna Winnicka) the mother superior of the convent who it would seem is possessed by numerous demons. Father Josef has been in training so to speak for many weeks, through prayer, abstinence, limited fasting and self flagellation and when he arrives at a nearby inn, he is shocked at the rumours he hears from the locals,who seem to take great pleasure in telling him of his difficult task, a task it would appear his that is going to be very difficult as the previous incumbent of his job had just recently been burnt at the stake.

Mother Joan of the Angels was in fact based on real events and might be considered by some as one of the earliest examples of Nunsploitation, but the film is not exploitative in any way and never resorts to nudity or explicit sex, in fact it's a beautifully filmed, superbly acted horror drama that it would seem was very influential on William Friedkin's The Exorcist(1973), in fact if I hadn't previously known of its influence I would be comparing it to that film along with perhaps Bergman's Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)a film set in a similar time frame that also boasts many wonderful scenes of rusticity amongst the peasants and that explores their every fear, not least in the first 15 mins where Mother Joan of the Angels is, it must be said, slow to get going, but in a good way, as Kawalerowicz builds up the tension, there is much talk and speculation amongst the peasants as the demonic things that go in the convent, the viewer is left in high anticipation of the evil that lurks there. The stunning high contrast black & white photography by Jerzy Wójcik is reminiscent of many an expressionistic silent era film, in particular the first meeting between the two main characters is superb as the juxtaposition of Suryn's black hair, black beard and black robe against Mother Joan's pure white habit and headdress is very striking, mainly because the classic colours of good and evil are actually reversed, for Mother Joan is possessed by no less than eight demons which don't take long to show themselves to Suryn, his plight seems doomed to failure as he is a man unsure of his own ability, his wide eyes giving away his fear of the demons and his task ahead. On the whole the film is an very intelligent character study that also touches on some very interesting theological issues, issues that are explored when Suryn goes to a local Rabbi for help. The only negative I would say for the film concerns the DVD which had some really poor subtitles, other than that I can't recommend it highly enough.9/10

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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961) ***1/2, 9 February 2007
8/10
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

This was a "Special Jury Prize" winner at the Cannes Film Festival in a year where the top winner, curiously enough, was another 'nun' picture - Luis Bunuel's controversial VIRIDIANA!

It deals with the famous 17th century incident of devil possession at Loudon - treated in several books and at least one more time on the screen, Ken Russell's notorious THE DEVILS (1971); for this reason, ever since I first watched the latter, MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS had been a sort of minor holy grail for me. Still, Kawalerowicz's approach couldn't be more different than Russell's hysterical campiness: while I admire the latter film, I seem to like it less with each viewing; this one, however, is a completely spellbinding character drama - not to mention a highly accomplished piece of film-making in its own right, with especially indelible visuals (somewhat reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman's medieval fables, namely THE SEVENTH SEAL [1957], THE MAGICIAN [1959] and THE VIRGIN SPRING [1960]): the starkness of its cinematography and sets (in contrast to the opulent exuberance of Russell's film) may also have influenced Andrei Tarkovsky's ANDREI RUBLEV (1966) - witness also the importance of the bells (as in the fantastic closing shot of them tolling silently, accompanied by the wailing nuns on the soundtrack).

Interestingly, when the film starts the possession and exorcism attempts are already well under way (in fact, the events of the film take place immediately after the licentious priest who was later to be the central male character of THE DEVILS, played by Oliver Reed, has been burned at the stake as a sorcerer, denounced by the possessed nuns themselves). Given the ten-year gap between the two films (which saw a considerable loosening in censorship), the scenes here of rampaging nuns are nowhere near as explicit as in Russell's film - especially since it mainly revolves around the figure of the Mother Superior (played by the director's own wife): her numerous possession scenes are very effective, however, with the first manifestation of evil being particularly unsettling and brilliantly handled. Young Sister Margaret (ostensibly the only one not possessed) does emerge a major secondary character: seduced by a visiting squire (who, as with virtually all the other civilians, is depicted as lusty and takes a voyeuristic interest in the events at the convent), she gives up her vows for him but he eventually abandons her!

This situation of 'impossible love' actually mirrors the more intense - yet repressed - central relationship between the the Mother Superior and the new priest (culminating in the scene where the Devil is literally passed from one body to the other); however, its aftermath differs strongly from the similar climactic incident in THE EXORCIST (1973): in a chilling sequence, to keep the demon from invading the woman again, here the priest goes on an irrational killing spree, finally telling Sister Margaret to inform the Mother Superior that he did it "out of love"! One of the most interesting sequences, too, is the one where the distraught Fr. Joseph seeks advise from a rabbi - an encounter which not only exposes the essential differences between the two faiths, but it's given an added touch of strangeness by having the same actor play both roles!

The issues with the print which had kept me from ordering this earlier were exaggerated by the screen captures I saw on DVD Beaver; while certainly imperfect, the picture quality doesn't severely affect one's viewing appreciation, or dampen in any way Second Run's efforts to bring such an important masterwork to a wider audience. While not as revered as Wajda or some of the other Polish film-makers, from the two Kawalerowicz films I've watched (the other being the historical epic PHAROAH [1966]), his talent is undeniable; I'd love to catch up with his NIGHT TRAIN (1959), which the liner notes on the DVD described as the director's best work, and also the Italian-made (and reportedly disastrous) MADDALENA (1971).

This was actually the first Second Run title I purchased: others I look forward to adding to my collection include THE RED AND THE WHITE (1967), THE CREMATOR (1968), THE EAR (1969), LOVE (1971) and the upcoming THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS (1966) and THE ROUND-UP (1966); I had intended to pick up KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER (1960) and PASSENGER (1963) as well, but the DVD presentation of both is unfortunately compromised - the former has been censored by the BBFC for animal violence, while the latter's Aspect Ratio is incorrect.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Polish nuns, 2 June 2006
9/10
Author: (grob248@aol.com) from Los Angeles, USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

While not a nunsploitation film at all, it's hard not to at least consider the analogy given the content, or at least the form. Within the context of nun films, this qualifies as the best of the lot, easily surpassing even "Flavia the Heretic". However, there is not a hint of exploitation here - this is a highly artistic work that values subtle and minimalist approach. All the excesses take place off screen. Instead, the film concentrates on the man's inner torture and crisis of faith, delivered with stern black and white cinematography. These factors are used to a great effect and sometimes do, in fact, lead to the atmosphere of veritable horror, particularly the devastating scenes leading up to, and following the murder of the two peasants. All in all, criss cross Bergman circa his "death of god" trilogy with snippets of "Incubus" (the one with William Shatner), Czech Republic's "Witches'Hammer", Japan's "School Of The Holy Beast" and "Excorcist", and you will end up in the ballpark next to "Matka Joanna..." Made in the early 60's, the film has obviously been quite offensive to the Catholic church, which always had a huge influence in Poland, even during the communist years. The scene of the priest going to a rabbi for advise (Mieczyslaw Voit doubling in the main role of a tortured priest and a rabbi)and being accused of ignorance is unsettling enough for any good Samaritan. But in those days the church must have had less leverage if, for instance, it wanted to have the film banned, I reckon. Overall, though, the movie takes stabs at both the insular macrocosm of the church as well as the secular world. The latter, for example, with the scene of a nobleman seducing a gullible nun and then abandoning her the morning after. And the former - with the scenes of priests impotently attempting to exorcise the sinful nuns. The exorcism sequences, namely those of the nuns, are wonderful actually - once again, subtle and also theatrical and surreal, but without the silly "Exorcist"-type horror bombast, although there are traces of it in the scene depicting the first encounter between the priest and mother superior. But since this movie was made way before the "Exorcist" - you can disregard the whole thing. Anyhow, this piece is way up there in the left-field Polish pantheon along with "Saragosa Manuscript" and early works of Andrzej Zulawski. Highest recommendations.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful..., 2 January 2008
8/10
Author: TheFiendsThatPlagueThee from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Another user lamented that this film was not available on VHS or DVD, but I must disagree. Polart Distribution Facets Video has come out with a DVD for Region 1 which enabled me to see this wonderful movie.

It is the story of a priest-exorcist who is sent to a convent where apparently the nuns, especially the mother-superior, are demon possessed. It is the story of the struggle between good and evil, between chastity and sexuality, of confronting one's own demons. And it is well done.

Lucyna Winnicka (Mother Joan of the Angels) commands attention as she provides an incredible performance. I was startled by the change in her appearance during the course of her first meeting with Mieczyslaw Voit (Father Suryn), where she changes from a meek, submissive nun to a demon-possessed soul. The abrupt and dramatic change in her facial expression was incredible.

I also felt the camera work (sadly, I don't know all the technical terms) was fantastic. The angles, the contrast, what was included and excluded in the background...all of this was flawless.

This story gives me a lot to think about and has left some vivid images in my head. A wonderful film that I will watch again.

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Talking Heads, 1 November 2009
3/10
Author: cstotlar-1 from United States

The subject of this film is a fascinating one and it has been portrayed in several media with great eloquence. I know nothing at all about the director of this film except that he is apparently not an experienced director at all. He might be a writer or theologian or philosopher but his field of expertise does not extend to direction. The film is poorly paced, verbose and it drags on for at least thirty minutes in excess. It repeats itself almost literally near the end to make a rather feeble point that it actually does have structure with apologies, I suppose, for the talk fest for the past two hours plus.. Frankly,I can't find anything to admire in it.

Curtis Stotlar

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2 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Avoid this movie like the plague!, 17 January 2008
4/10
Author: jamestalltree from United States

The subtitles in this movie are horrific. The translation from Polish to English is not smooth at all. The translation is somewhat similar to the terrible Chinese knockoffs that are now in circulation. It would seem that whoever translated this movie was a native Polish speaker with limited English skills. There are many grammatical mistakes in translation, problems with thought continuity, and failure to follow logical semantic sequences. The only saving grace is the cinematography, which is superb. If just for the cinematography, I would rate this movie a 10, but the translation pulls my rating down to a 4. I was tempted to give it a rating of 1, but the saving grace is the cinematography. This is one that is definitely to be avoided.

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