In the history of cinema there are various professional categories that are systematically mistreated and misrepresented: doctors, psychologists, musicians… and nuns. Think about it: when was the last time you saw a sincere, reassuring, friendly nun at the cinema, happy with her choice and her life? The nuns that Father Amorth plays cuckoo to are not worth it. The others are always either shamelessly sadistic bitches, or they live their faith in an unorthodox way, or they die badly. Okay, I hear you laughing, I admit it: Cicciolina expert on nuns? But she goes! Granted I went to nursery school with the Sisters of St. Joseph, but once I finished that, I never spoke to a nun again in my life, so what do I know? In fact, not much; but well, I would be surprised to know that the reality is in fact the one depicted in recent anti-clerical films. Which are based without exception on a series of well-tested narrative tropes which are also present here.
Like Consecration but better
The young and pure protagonist arrives in a cursed convent in Italy (the cursed convents in the cinema are always in Europe – perhaps because in America they already have enough pseudo-religious psychopathology in real life) after having survived a trauma; There she meets a nice nun, a bitchy nun, a shady guy with an unclear past (our old acquaintance Álvaro Morte!), then she discovers that she is the sacrificial victim of some crazy shit and suddenly she has to save herself. In short, all the clichés are in the right place, right? It’s a derivative story at best and various scenes are even copied from other similar films before this one, no? So where can the surprise be, as it does Immaculate to be the bomb that it actually is? The trick lies first of all in the screenplay, which occasionally loses a few pieces but is largely forgiven for its imagination and rhythm; and then, siore and siori, in a production of THE MADONNA.
Like Benedetta, not better but with more violence
You remember when I reviewed it Consecration? No, right? I don’t know what fault to blame you; it wasn’t a bad film, it did its job well but ran out of gas too soon. Here you are, Immaculate it seems like a Consecration who keeps the good sides but doesn’t give a damn about the homework: the director Michael Mohan turns the volume up to the maximum, has a lot of fun, invents images with a strong impact (the nuns with the scarlet masks are phenomenal), he’s not afraid of blood and ultraviolence; but above all, she gains the total trust of a beautiful, good (and busty, finally!) protagonist who knows exactly what to do and how – especially SCREAM. Sydney Sweeney is a wonder to watch and listen to, and if there is any justice in this world, Sister Cecilia’s role in Immaculate will launch her career as the role of Thomasin in The VVitch launched Anya Taylor-Joy’s. Furthermore, the film takes up a very courageous idea that is finally appearing in cinema (for example in the inane Huesera), namely that motherhood is not necessarily a positive choice and that keeping the baby for a pregnant woman is not necessarily the priority .
What pranksters!
Sydney Sweeney stated that the biggest difficulty in shooting the film was finding a convent that would accept the crew to film a story that was not exactly flattering towards the clergy, because clearly the abbesses demanded to read the script and then spread word of mouth; it would be bad faith not to realize that the nuns are not completely wrong. Yet, why blame these stories clearly invented from scratch? Why not make more noise for, I don’t know, Vatican Girl on the Emanuela Orlandi case, did it really happen? Immaculate will it come to Italy or will it be censored? Anti-clericalism aside, this is an important, beautiful, well-made film. Make sure you don’t miss it if you want to go to heaven.
Radio Maria-quotes:
“Blood Red Nuns”
Cicciolina Wertmüller, i400calci.com
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