(Matka Joanna od Aniołów)

Directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz

105 minutes

In Polish with English subtitles

In 1634 in the small city of Loudun in France, something bizarre occurred. The Ursuline nuns at the local convent suddenly broke out in mass sexual hysteria and they accused the local priest of possessing them. This true event was described in a book by Aldous Huxley, and it was made into a notorious movie by Ken Russell in the early 70s. Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki even transformed the incident into an opera. But this wild event was also mapped out in Communist Poland in 1960, by one of the masters of East Bloc cinema - Jerzy Kawalerowicz (Night Train).

When Ken Russell made his version of events (The Devils), he told only the first half of the story. Actually, the nuns continued to be possessed for another four years afterwards. This film switches the setting to Poland, and opens with Father Jozef Suryn arriving in the small town to investigate the alleged reports of demonic possession, continuing after the local priest was burnt at the stake. But as father Suryn attempts to engage with the  fanatic head nun (Mother Joan) he finds himself losing grip with his own sense of reality.

Where Russell's depiction of events was provocative, Kawalerowicz's take doesn't resort to nudity or explicit sex... instead it is more eerie, poetic, slowly unfolding into almost a horror film (in the Ingmar Bergman sense). This is a film of suffocating moods, bleak landscapes and expressionistic cinematography... along with a crazy storyline based on a true story. Although it is a strange and dark film, there are some who feel it is the most spiritual film ever made. Winner of the 1961 special jury prize at Cannes.