SnoopyStyle
Around 1930 in Belgium, Gabrielle Van Der Mal (Audrey Hepburn) leaves her wealthy family to join the convent. Her surgeon father tries to dissuade her but she aims to be a healer in the Congo. She is given the name Sister Luke as she faces the challenges of her faith in the real world. Her nemesis is her pride. First, she's denied the Congo but eventually, she is assigned there to work under Dr. Fortunati (Peter Finch).Based upon the life of Marie Louise Habets, it was nominated for 8 Oscars winning none. It is certainly detailed in its portrayal of a nun's life. It's the film debut of Colleen Dewhurst in a minor role. Each part is interesting but the movie needs a driving force through the entire story. That is supposed to be her pride but it comes and goes at times. That idea needs some repetitive clarity as a lens to focus her character development. It is sometimes colored with a suggested love story with Fortunati. Her obsession with the Congo needs to be given voice. It would be great if she actually says out loud that she is better than the other nuns. Her struggles with her obedience is generally good. The most compelling scene is the leper colony with real lepers. The Nazi occupation could have been more dramatic although this movie treats it more as an interior struggle. It stops her story short. I understand the concept of stopping at that point but I need to see her life afterwards.
jlgAltman
It's wonderful to catch up with classic films that may have lost of their buzz over time. THE NUN'S STORY is a truly perfect work but not one that is mentioned in the same breath as other classic films from great directors like Fred Zinneman and star Audrey Hepburn. This sublime film is subtle to the extreme. Almost flat in fact, depicting the inner struggle of a nun who wishes nothing more than to be a citizen of the world, something the convent does not allow. THE NUN'S STORY takes its time. There is no emotion. No evil. No greatness. Just the struggle to define one self and become the person you must be. Simply stunning, subtle, and perfect!
dimplet
What makes this movie special is the acting, or more accurately, the lack of acting. With many Hollywood movies, you get Hollywood acting, and after seeing so much of it, it begins to seem normal. But The Nun's Story is very naturalistic, so you feel like you are seeing real people, which is vital for a story like this, which is short on plot and drama. It is very much about inner states of mind and soul, and the minimalistic direction of Fred Zinnemann lets these qualities shine through. I can think of many directors who could learn a lot from watching this movie.Audrey Hepburn delivers the impeccable performance we expect, and then some, especially toward the end. The reason is that she spent much of her childhood in Holland, where the movie opens and closes, and was stuck there during World War II during German occupation. So when the Germans invade near the end of the movie, finding the appropriate emotion surely wasn't a struggle. Hepburn saw unspeakable hardship in her life, which surely must have provided resources for roles like this. The supporting cast is outstanding. The preceding reviewer listed all the key names but one: Mildred Dunnock. She is one of those secondary actresses who inhabits her role so perfectly that you usually don't notice her. But she is a true actress, who, I suspect, could have delivered a respectable performance in almost any of the female roles in this film. Here she plays Sister Margharita, a nun of utter, unassuming modesty -- not exactly an opportunity to deliver the dramatic performance of a lifetime. But she did her job to perfection. In the opening of the film, watching the Catholic ceremony, a viewer such as I can't help but bringing some modern cynicism to the table: thoughts of all sorts of Catholic scandal. There is no scandal in this movie, but neither is it as sweet as The Sound of Music.I hate to do spoilers, but this movie is not so tied to plot.I don't think the movie makes clear why Hepburn's character leaves the monastic life. We have Peter Finch's observations, but were they correct? Hepburn does say she objects to having to leave a patient's side the moment the church bell rings, but that is hardly a deal breaker. The movie is, for the most part, not critical of the Catholic Church, which is the sensible thing, since before all the sex scandals, the Church could be vicious in undermining the careers of anyone who breathed the slightest criticism in the media. By leaving the real reason for Hepburn's departure unspoken, the movie leaves the viewer to fill in the blank. As a nun, she was expected to help others even if it meant giving her own life. The visit to the leper colony clearly shook her. Yet, when she left the monastic life, she was poised to join the Dutch underground resistance to Nazi occupation, which, too, could mean giving her own life to help others. So self-sacrifice was not the issue. Forgiving others, even Nazis? The neutrality of the Church during war? Not being able to decide where she would work as a nurse? Or was she just too intelligent to give the Church unquestioning obedience?Ultimately, that is a question the viewer must answer.
brefane
Fred Zinneman's fine, thoughtful and absorbing film succeeds in making inner turmoil palpable thanks in large part to Audrey Hephurn's luminous performance. The nun's habit forces us to concentrate on her face, and Hephurn performs with sustained strength, grace and skill; virtues present in Zinneman's direction as well. Zinneman elicits excellent performances from the entire cast in which Dame Edith Evans and Colleen Dewhurst stand out. Though somewhat long and episodic, The Nun's Story is one of the best films dealing with religious life, and the ending is memorable. Zinneman, who directed The Sundowners(60) A Man for all Seasons(66) Julia(76) and From Here to Eternity(53), maintains an admirably objective tone throughout. Along with Hitchcock's North by Northwest and Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, The Nun's Story was the best American film released in 1959, though the Oscar for Best Picture went to Ben Hur.
