Directed by:
Guillaume NiclouxScreenplay:
Guillaume NiclouxCinematography:
Yves CapeComposer:
Max RichterCast:
Isabelle Huppert, Louise Bourgoin, Martina Gedeck, Agathe Bonitzer, Marc Barbé, Pauline Etienne, Gilles Cohen, Pascal Bongard, François Négret, Lou Castel (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Suzanne Simonin describes her life of suffering in letters. As a young woman she is sent to a convent against her will. Since her parents cannot afford the dowry required for a marriage befitting her rank they decide she must instead become a nun. Although a kind and understanding Mother Superior helps her to learn the convent's daily routine, Suzanne's desire for freedom remains unabated. When the Mother Superior dies, Suzanne finds herself faced with reprisals, humiliation and harassment at the hands of the new Abbess and the other Sisters. For many years, Suzanne is subjected to bigotry and religious fanaticism.
Denis Diderot's novel has been adapted for the screen several times. In 1966 Jacques Rivette made a film version with Anna Karina and Liselotte Pulver so daringly critical of the church it was temporarily banned by the French censors. Guillaume Nicloux however concentrates on the fate of a young woman pitted against a merciless system which crushes the individual. His film gradually divorces itself from the circumstances of this particular story to describe a universal drama.
(Berlinale)
Cast
Isabelle Huppert
France
Best movies:
No Time for Breakfast (1976)
The Common Man (1975)
The Lacemaker (1977)
Louise Bourgoin
France
Best movies:
Little Nicholas (2009)
A Happy Event (2011)
I Am a Soldier (2015)
Martina Gedeck
West Germany
Best movies:
The Lives of Others (2006)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
Life Is All You Get (1997)
Agathe Bonitzer
France
Best movies:
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (2010)
La Nouvelle Femme (2023)
Three Lives and Only One Death (1996)
Marc Barbé
France
Best movies:
The Bohemian Life (1992)
La Vie en rose (2007)
My Way (2012)
Pauline Etienne
Belgium
Best movies:
2 automnes 3 hivers (2013)
Tokyo Fiancée (2014)
Endangered Species (2017)
Gilles Cohen
Best movies:
A Prophet (2009)
Chaos (2001)
Kings & Queen (2004)
Pascal Bongard
Best movies:
Two (2002)
13 (2005)
My Little Princess (2011)
François Négret
France
Best movies:
Les Misérables (2000) (series)
Mauvais Sang (1986)
Goodbye, Children (1987)
Lou Castel
Colombia
Best movies:
Fist in His Pocket (1965)
The Leopard (1963)
What Time Is It? (1989)
Fabrizio Rongione
Belgium
Garance Clavel
France
Best movies:
Dans La Cour (2014)
After You (2003)
The Nun (2013)
Noémie Dujardin
Best movies:
The Nun (2013)
Françoise Lebrun
Best movies:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
The Girl Without Hands (2016)
L'Impure (1991) (TV movie)
Stéphane Bissot
Best movies:
L'enfant (2005)
La Chance de ma vie (2011)
Loving Without Reason (2012)
Alice de Lencquesaing
Best movies:
Cyrano, My Love (2018)
Frantz (2016)
Polisse (2011)
Lisa Lacroix
Best movies:
The Nun (2013)
Pierre Nisse
Best movies:
The Son (2002)
Grand Central (2013)
Rebelles (2019)
Alexia Depicker
Best movies:
The Connection (2014)
A Distant Neighborhood (2010)
The Clearstream Affair (2014)
Nicolas Jouhet
Best movies:
I Stand Alone (1998)
Je m'appelle Bernadette (2011)
Lemming (2005)