DVD: Mother Joan of the Angels | reviews, news & interviews
DVD: Mother Joan of the Angels
DVD: Mother Joan of the Angels
Demons rage in Communist Poland cinema world, in a spiritual film to match any
In the English-speaking world we know most about France's Ursuline possessions of the 1630s through Aldous Huxley’s 1952 The Devils of Loudun, and of course through Ken Russell’s 1971 film The Devils. But a decade before Russell’s scandalous work, Polish director Jerzy Kawalerowicz treated the same subject in his 1960 film Mother Joan of the Angels, now re-released from Second Run in a restored version.
Kawalerowicz was at the height of his powers, heading up the Kadr state film unit, which was the effective central axis of the Polish film school, that took off from the mid 1950s as political restrictions on filming began to be relaxed (they would remain so for only a decade): the year before he had made his Night Train, which owed much to Hitchcock.
Here’s he’s on very different, eternal ground, in the stark territory of Dreyer, Bergman et al. An extra on this release by Michael Brooke suggests he might have seen that other film about convent life going badly wrong, Powell and Pressburger’s 1947 Black Narcissus. It seems very plausible.
But any film made in Communist Poland at the time about repression and redemption obviously had wider echoes. Kawalerowicz, an avowed atheist, pitched it to the Communist authorities as anti-Church. He ended up making one of the most spiritual films ever. Before it won the 1961 special jury prize at Cannes, the Vatican had sent a delegation there to challenge him. Ironies of history.
Outstanding performances in bleak black and white landscapes, captured brilliantly by cinematographer Jerzy Wojcik, from the director’s wife Lucyna Winnicka as the possessed abbess Mother Joan (she was pregnant at the time, and has some very physical action: the other nuns were apparently costumed to accord with her pregnancy). Chief exorcist Father Suryn (Mieczyslaw Voit), taking on her devils, excels, and doubles as the Rabbi from whom he seeks advice.
Extraordinary then. No less extraordinary today, in a version that restores the richness of its sharp images brilliantly.
rating
Explore topics
Share this article
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Film
![A break in the clouds for Glen Powell as Tyler Owens and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate Cooper](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Glen%20%26%20Daisy.jpg?itok=zmHD64Ru)
![Monse, a keen bareback rider, with her horse in 'The Echo'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/EL%20ECO_Still_1%20copy.jpg?itok=-Heu9dmB)
![Uphill struggle: Deniz Celilolglu as Samet, Musab Ekici as Kenan and Merve Dizdar as Nuray](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/LesHerbesSeches_Stills02A%CC%82%C2%A9NuriBilgeCeylan.jpg?itok=tILsz9d3)
![Here's Johnny: Ry Barrett as the masked killer](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/unnamed%20%282%29.jpg?itok=pAbUQKsU)
![Tired travellers: Lucas Kankava, Mzia Arabuli in 'Crossing'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Crossing%20couple.jpg?itok=VqBYXabA)
![Sleeping partners: Zoe Ziegler as Lacy and Julianne Nicholson as Janet](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/janetlacy%202.jpg?itok=qQqnE1Hi)
![Dreams of leaving: Louis Brealey in 'Chuck Chuck Baby'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/8aZBXqv0.jpg?itok=4OSHl_Dr)
![No appetite for complacency: Oriana White in 'Sandwiches'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Sandwiches%20written%20by%20Naomi%20Westerman%2C%20performed%20by%20Oriana%20White._0.jpg?itok=Zmtlvk8M)
![FBI Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) frozen in fear](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Longlegs3.jpg?itok=TWxRJpFZ)
![Haunted: Lee Sun-kyun as Hyun-su and Jung Yu-mi as Soo-jin](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Sleep%20MAIN.jpg?itok=8CvUTiab)
![A giant leap for mankind? Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) and Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson)](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Super%20Chan%20%26%20Scar%20NEWMAIN%21%21.jpg?itok=7xlPRBUq)
![Mean streets: Maxine (Mia Goth) and Tabby (Halsey)](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Maxxxine%20Hollywood.jpg?itok=zokZrknP)
Add comment