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The
True Story of the
Nun of Monza
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5
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5 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Rod
Barnett |
Set
in northern Italy in the early 1600s, The
True Story of the Nun of Monza relates the sad but sexy
convent life of the daughter of that city's feudal lord. She
is dowered into the care of the nuns by her father to remove
her from the temptations of the world. This seems to have been
a good idea, as the newly christened Sister Virginia de Leyve
(Zora Kerova of Anthropophagus
and Touch of Death)
has very vivid dreams of humiliation by the nuns and of herself
in a nude embrace with men. When these dreams culminate in Jesus
stepping down from the crucifix to allow the kneeling girl to
kiss his stomach, you know she has some problems with fornication.
Not that she's alone in this in the convent...
We quickly learn that several of the nuns
sleep with each other on a regular basis as well as slipping
away in the night to visit men. This hidden sexual life extends
to the local priest (Giovanni Attanasio) as well, who is carrying
on a long-term relationship with one of the more beautiful nuns.
Not content to sleep with his beloved, the priest lusts after
Virginia. After a drunken night of debauchery with some wealthy
friends, he tries to rape the poor girl in the confessional
booth. That he's costumed in a red devil outfit at the time
only adds to the bizarre nature of the sequence, driving the
symbolism home with a hammer.
It
briefly looks like Virginia is also going to be pursued by one
of the priest's rich wastrel friends, Giampaolo Osio (Mario
Cutini), an aristocrat with a quick temper and the blood of
a few dueling opponents on his hands. But this budding scheme
comes to a halt when news arrives of her father's death. This
makes Virginia the new noble Lady of Monza, with the power to
have herself elected to replace the elderly, ailing Mother Superior.
To this end she enlists fellow nun Benedetta (Paolo Montenero)
as her second in command, which turns out to be a mistake. The
priest and his lover fear the new leader will discover their
secret and so blackmail secret lesbian Benedetta to help them
set her up. They lure the new Mother Superior to a quiet location
in the convent and watch while Osio rapes her. Sadly reinforcing
every misogynistic thought about women, Virginia becomes Osio's
willing lover and eventually realizes she's pregnant.
Her
condition is kept quiet and when the child is stillborn she
prays for forgiveness. Proclaiming not to love Osio any longer,
she vows to mend her ways. But young novitiate Margherita (Leda
Simoneti), who midwifed the baby, threatens to reveal everyone's
dirty secrets unless she is given whatever she wants. Mere moments
after Osio silences the girl the Inquisitor shows up to strip
away all deceit and wield the mighty sword of Church justice.
The Nunsploitation
genre is one I've never really understood. Not being Catholic,
I don't have any childhood fears, erotic or otherwise, linked
to the sight of women covered from head to toe in black drapery.
Nor do I attribute these "Brides of Christ" with any
special reverence that would cause the sight of them acting
with sexual abandon to be more alluring than any other attractive
woman. Sadly this lack of any Catholic background or even direct
knowledge of the religion seems to blunt the titillation factor
of these films. This means that, for me, they succeed or fail
solely on their merits as well told stories. Unfortunately this
film lacks a strong narrative line which blunts any sense of
forward momentum. Until the final 20 minutes the movie has almost
no drive making it feel more like a series of anecdotes rather
than a story with a purpose. As a matter of fact I'm sure that
you could scramble the order of about 10 scenes in the middle
of the film without changing the structure of the tale or
the tragic arc Virginia follows. The overwhelming feeling for
most of the film was of drifting from scene to scene with little
forward impetus. It was as if we were simply seeing incidents
along a timeline with only a few connecting threads until the
pregnancy occurs and the heavy duty guilt kicks in. I guess
this might be a case of adhering to the facts of the historical
events they are supposed to be dramatizing but it makes for
a rambling, occasionally dull movie.
I guess I was expecting
something sleazier as this was directed under a pseudonym by
Bruno Mattei (as "Stefan Oblowsky").
His other films from the same period are trashy glories brimming
with nastiness that he seems to relish wallowing in for the
sake of cheap thrills. Maybe that’s the reason for the false
name on the credits- to distance The
True Story of the Nun of Monza
from his other work. But it's strange that this well-mounted
but mostly flat film would be attributed to a fictitious person
while his junk film epics like Rats
and SS Girls sport
his given name. I wonder which he's more proud of when he looks
back.
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The
Exploitation Digital DVD release of The
True Story of the Nun of Monza is an adequate way to see
the movie, if not perfect. The 1.85:1 anamorphic image is a little
soft but I think that might've been intentional on the part of
the filmmakers. The print used is in good shape albeit with some
mildly distracting horizontal lines in the last 25 minutes. The
only soundtrack option is the original Italian language with very
good optional English subtitles provided in yellow. The sound
is strong throughout, with clear vocal performances, but the film's
lack of concern for good Foley work makes some things unintentionally
humorous.
The
only extras are the trailer and a small gallery of poor-quality
images taken directly from the film. Four trailers for other Exploitation
Digital releases are included as well.
1/14/07 |
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