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The Nun's Story (1959)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
18 heinäkuu 1959 (USA) moreTagline:
Her Faith Remained Strong and True in the Face of Africa's Terrors! morePlot:
This is the story of Sister Luke, from the time she enters the convent until she chooses to leave the Sisterhood... more | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 12 nominations moreUser Comments:
A fascinating film with wonderful touching moments… more (57 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Audrey Hepburn | ... | Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal) |
 | Peter Finch | ... | Dr. Fortunati |
 | Edith Evans | ... | Rev. Mother Emmanuel (Belgium) (as Dame Edith Evans) |
| Peggy Ashcroft | ... | Mother Mathilde (Africa) (as Dame Peggy Ashcroft) |
| Dean Jagger | ... | Dr. Van Der Mal |
| Mildred Dunnock | ... | Sister Margharita (Mistress of Postulants) |
| Beatrice Straight | ... | Mother Christophe (Sanatorium) |
| Patricia Collinge | ... | Sister William (convent teacher) |
| Rosalie Crutchley | ... | Sister Eleanor |
| Ruth White | ... | Mother Marcella (School of Medicine) |
| Barbara O'Neil | ... | Mother Didyma (War-time Hospital) |
| Margaret Phillips | ... | Sister Pauline (medical student) |
| Patricia Bosworth | ... | Simone (postulant who changed her mind) |
| Colleen Dewhurst | ... | Archangel Gabriel (Sanatorium) |
| Stephen Murray | ... | Chaplain (Father Andre) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
149 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)Certification:
Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:PG (tv rating) | UK:U | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (certificate #18979) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Members of the Rome Opera ballet corps were hired to play some of the nuns, and complex convent rituals were literally choreographed for them. moreGoofs:
Factual errors: When Sister Luke removes her wedding ring at the end of the movie, her nails are long and she is wearing clear nail polish, neither of which would have been allowed for a nun. moreQuotes:
[after a nun has been beaten to death by a crazed native]Ilunga: If such a death happened with us, Mama Luke, we would tie the murderer to a pole and cut his body for fish bait.
Sister Luke: But we would not. We have been taught to forgive.
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This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (57 total)
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Poverty, Charity, and Obedience are extremely difficult... Detachment from family and friends is difficult... Detachment from things and memories is much more difficult...
Silence, detachment and mortification are the conditions of prayer and the negative aspect of a nun's spirituality, while prayer and union with God are its positive aspects... To be firm, prayer must be built on profound humility...
Gabrielle Van der Mal is a morally powerful girl who wants from all her heart to be obedient to the bells of the congregation... She perfectly knows that her personal wishes come to an end when she enters that door... Her loving father remembers her: 'If you ever decide this is not right for you, there's no sense of failure coming back home.'
The film's first part focuses on the making of a Catholic nun as it follows the young Belgian girl, from the time she takes leave of her dispirited father to enter the rigorous Roman Catholic order, until her appearance as an experienced nursing nun, hopeful of following the medical vocation of her famous surgeon father...
The story then moves to the Congo where God selects his moment to offer the most perfect alliance with each individual soul... Gabrielle, now known as Sister Luke, assists as server of Dr. Fortunati, 'a genius, a devil and a non-believer,' who takes pleasure in noting Sister Luke's minor infractions of her vows that would require confession...
It's clear that the process of becoming an exemplary nun is a lot harder than any woman can hope for... Sister Luke is supposed to make the love of God the motive of all her actions... She seems to fail in her Vows of Poverty, Charity and Obedience... Pride is not being burned out of her... The more she attempts, the more imperfect she becomes...
"The Nun's Story" is a fascinating film with wonderful touching moments but also with traumatic scenes in a mental institution... The dark side of the Congo is seen through the eyes of a priest, when Sister Luke visited a leper colony...
The performances are extraordinary... It's visually beautiful, and after a very slow start, the film builds quickly to a very powerful ending... The last shot is the only instance of a Warner Brothers film not to have music over its end-title...
The film garnered eight Academy Award nominations, one for its big star Audrey Hepburn...