Mother Joan of the Angels
Encyclopedia
Mother Joan of the Angels is a 1961 drama film on demonic possession
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...

, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...

 of the same title by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. The film won the Special Jury Prize
Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)
The Jury Prize is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It is considered the third most prestigious prize at the film festival, after the Palme d'Or and the Grand Prix....

 at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival
1961 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jean Giono *Sergei Yutkevich *Pedro Armendáriz *Luigi Chiarini *Claude Mauriac *Edouard Molinaro *Jean Paulhan *Raoul Ploquin...

.

Plot

Set in a seventeenth century Polish convent, the film begins as a priest, Father Suryn (Mieczyslaw Voit), arrives at a small inn for a night's rest. He has been sent to investigate a case of demonic possession
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...

 at a nearby convent after a local priest was burnt for sexually tempting the nuns. The next day, he sets out for the convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

, where he meets its abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....

, Mother Joan (Lucyna Winnicka
Lucyna Winnicka
Lucyna Winnicka is a Polish actress. She appeared in 21 films between 1954 and 1978. She played the lead role in the film Mother Joan of the Angels, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival....

), said to be the most possessed of all the nuns. Father Suryn will have to go to hell and back to save Joan, casting himself forever into darkness for her salvation.

Cast

  • Lucyna Winnicka
    Lucyna Winnicka
    Lucyna Winnicka is a Polish actress. She appeared in 21 films between 1954 and 1978. She played the lead role in the film Mother Joan of the Angels, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival....

     as Mother Joan of the Angels
  • Mieczyslaw Voit as Father Jozef Suryn / Rabbi
  • Anna Ciepielewska as Sister Malgorzata
  • Maria Chwalibóg as Antosia
  • Kazimierz Fabisiak as Father Brym
  • Stanislaw Jasiukiewicz as Chrzaszczewski
  • Zygmunt Zintel as Wincenty Wolodkowicz
  • Jerzy Kaczmarek
    Jerzy Kaczmarek
    Jerzy Kaczmarek is a Polish fencer. He won a gold medal in the team foil event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.-References:...

     as Kaziuk
  • Franciszek Pieczka
    Franciszek Pieczka
    Franciszek Pieczka is a Polish film and stage actor. A graduate of the Theatrical Academy in Warsaw, he first made his debut in the theatre in Jelenia Góra...

     as Odryn
  • Jaroslaw Kuszewski as Juraj
  • Lech Wojciechowski as Piatkowski
  • Marian Nosek as Dominican Priest
  • Jerzy Walden as Dominican Priest
  • Marian Nowak
  • Zygmunt Malawski as Exorcist

Background

This film is very loosely based on the real life outbreak of mass hysteria in the French town of Loudun
Loudun
Loudun is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.It is located south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars...

 in 1634 that occurred when a convent of Ursuline
Ursulines
The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...

 nuns, led by the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne of the Angels, became obsessed with a handsome, womanising priest, Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun Possessions." The circumstances of Father Grandier's trial and execution have attracted the attention of writers Alexandre Dumas, père and...

. When Grandier turned down the nun's invitation to become their spiritual director, Jeanne, in a jealous rage, accused Grandier of using black magic to seduce her and her sisters and possess them with devils. Grandier's enemies, including Cardinal Richelieu, used the accusation as an excuse to have him found guilty of witchcraft and executed.

Unlike Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...

's The Devils
The Devils (film)
The Devils is a 1971 British historical drama directed by Ken Russell and starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. It is based partially on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, and partially on the 1960 play The Devils by John Whiting, also based on Huxley's book...

(1971), which depicts Grandier's trial and death, Mother Joan of the Angels instead depicts the events after his death. The nuns continued to be possessed for four years after his death, and further exorcisms were carried out by the sincere and deeply spiritual Father Joseph Suryn whose main concern was helping Sister Jeanne.

Critical reception

The film was recommended by Philip Jenkinson
Philip Jenkinson
Philip Jenkinson is a British cinema specialist, journalist, BBC television presenter and film collector. His collection was known as Filmfinders.-Early life:...

in the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...

.

External links


Mother Joan of the Angels is a 1961 drama film on demonic possession
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...

, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...

 of the same title by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. The film won the Special Jury Prize
Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)
The Jury Prize is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It is considered the third most prestigious prize at the film festival, after the Palme d'Or and the Grand Prix....

 at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival
1961 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jean Giono *Sergei Yutkevich *Pedro Armendáriz *Luigi Chiarini *Claude Mauriac *Edouard Molinaro *Jean Paulhan *Raoul Ploquin...

.

Plot

Set in a seventeenth century Polish convent, the film begins as a priest, Father Suryn (Mieczyslaw Voit), arrives at a small inn for a night's rest. He has been sent to investigate a case of demonic possession
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...

 at a nearby convent after a local priest was burnt for sexually tempting the nuns. The next day, he sets out for the convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

, where he meets its abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....

, Mother Joan (Lucyna Winnicka
Lucyna Winnicka
Lucyna Winnicka is a Polish actress. She appeared in 21 films between 1954 and 1978. She played the lead role in the film Mother Joan of the Angels, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival....

), said to be the most possessed of all the nuns. Father Suryn will have to go to hell and back to save Joan, casting himself forever into darkness for her salvation.

Cast

  • Lucyna Winnicka
    Lucyna Winnicka
    Lucyna Winnicka is a Polish actress. She appeared in 21 films between 1954 and 1978. She played the lead role in the film Mother Joan of the Angels, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival....

     as Mother Joan of the Angels
  • Mieczyslaw Voit as Father Jozef Suryn / Rabbi
  • Anna Ciepielewska as Sister Malgorzata
  • Maria Chwalibóg as Antosia
  • Kazimierz Fabisiak as Father Brym
  • Stanislaw Jasiukiewicz as Chrzaszczewski
  • Zygmunt Zintel as Wincenty Wolodkowicz
  • Jerzy Kaczmarek
    Jerzy Kaczmarek
    Jerzy Kaczmarek is a Polish fencer. He won a gold medal in the team foil event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.-References:...

     as Kaziuk
  • Franciszek Pieczka
    Franciszek Pieczka
    Franciszek Pieczka is a Polish film and stage actor. A graduate of the Theatrical Academy in Warsaw, he first made his debut in the theatre in Jelenia Góra...

     as Odryn
  • Jaroslaw Kuszewski as Juraj
  • Lech Wojciechowski as Piatkowski
  • Marian Nosek as Dominican Priest
  • Jerzy Walden as Dominican Priest
  • Marian Nowak
  • Zygmunt Malawski as Exorcist

Background

This film is very loosely based on the real life outbreak of mass hysteria in the French town of Loudun
Loudun
Loudun is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.It is located south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars...

 in 1634 that occurred when a convent of Ursuline
Ursulines
The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...

 nuns, led by the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne of the Angels, became obsessed with a handsome, womanising priest, Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun Possessions." The circumstances of Father Grandier's trial and execution have attracted the attention of writers Alexandre Dumas, père and...

. When Grandier turned down the nun's invitation to become their spiritual director, Jeanne, in a jealous rage, accused Grandier of using black magic to seduce her and her sisters and possess them with devils. Grandier's enemies, including Cardinal Richelieu, used the accusation as an excuse to have him found guilty of witchcraft and executed.

Unlike Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...

's The Devils
The Devils (film)
The Devils is a 1971 British historical drama directed by Ken Russell and starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. It is based partially on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, and partially on the 1960 play The Devils by John Whiting, also based on Huxley's book...

(1971), which depicts Grandier's trial and death, Mother Joan of the Angels instead depicts the events after his death. The nuns continued to be possessed for four years after his death, and further exorcisms were carried out by the sincere and deeply spiritual Father Joseph Suryn whose main concern was helping Sister Jeanne.

Critical reception

The film was recommended by Philip Jenkinson
Philip Jenkinson
Philip Jenkinson is a British cinema specialist, journalist, BBC television presenter and film collector. His collection was known as Filmfinders.-Early life:...

in the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...

.

External links


Mother Joan of the Angels is a 1961 drama film on demonic possession
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...

, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...

 of the same title by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. The film won the Special Jury Prize
Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)
The Jury Prize is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It is considered the third most prestigious prize at the film festival, after the Palme d'Or and the Grand Prix....

 at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival
1961 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jean Giono *Sergei Yutkevich *Pedro Armendáriz *Luigi Chiarini *Claude Mauriac *Edouard Molinaro *Jean Paulhan *Raoul Ploquin...

.

Plot

Set in a seventeenth century Polish convent, the film begins as a priest, Father Suryn (Mieczyslaw Voit), arrives at a small inn for a night's rest. He has been sent to investigate a case of demonic possession
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...

 at a nearby convent after a local priest was burnt for sexually tempting the nuns. The next day, he sets out for the convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

, where he meets its abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....

, Mother Joan (Lucyna Winnicka
Lucyna Winnicka
Lucyna Winnicka is a Polish actress. She appeared in 21 films between 1954 and 1978. She played the lead role in the film Mother Joan of the Angels, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival....

), said to be the most possessed of all the nuns. Father Suryn will have to go to hell and back to save Joan, casting himself forever into darkness for her salvation.

Cast

  • Lucyna Winnicka
    Lucyna Winnicka
    Lucyna Winnicka is a Polish actress. She appeared in 21 films between 1954 and 1978. She played the lead role in the film Mother Joan of the Angels, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival....

     as Mother Joan of the Angels
  • Mieczyslaw Voit as Father Jozef Suryn / Rabbi
  • Anna Ciepielewska as Sister Malgorzata
  • Maria Chwalibóg as Antosia
  • Kazimierz Fabisiak as Father Brym
  • Stanislaw Jasiukiewicz as Chrzaszczewski
  • Zygmunt Zintel as Wincenty Wolodkowicz
  • Jerzy Kaczmarek
    Jerzy Kaczmarek
    Jerzy Kaczmarek is a Polish fencer. He won a gold medal in the team foil event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.-References:...

     as Kaziuk
  • Franciszek Pieczka
    Franciszek Pieczka
    Franciszek Pieczka is a Polish film and stage actor. A graduate of the Theatrical Academy in Warsaw, he first made his debut in the theatre in Jelenia Góra...

     as Odryn
  • Jaroslaw Kuszewski as Juraj
  • Lech Wojciechowski as Piatkowski
  • Marian Nosek as Dominican Priest
  • Jerzy Walden as Dominican Priest
  • Marian Nowak
  • Zygmunt Malawski as Exorcist

Background

This film is very loosely based on the real life outbreak of mass hysteria in the French town of Loudun
Loudun
Loudun is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.It is located south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars...

 in 1634 that occurred when a convent of Ursuline
Ursulines
The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...

 nuns, led by the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne of the Angels, became obsessed with a handsome, womanising priest, Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun Possessions." The circumstances of Father Grandier's trial and execution have attracted the attention of writers Alexandre Dumas, père and...

. When Grandier turned down the nun's invitation to become their spiritual director, Jeanne, in a jealous rage, accused Grandier of using black magic to seduce her and her sisters and possess them with devils. Grandier's enemies, including Cardinal Richelieu, used the accusation as an excuse to have him found guilty of witchcraft and executed.

Unlike Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...

's The Devils
The Devils (film)
The Devils is a 1971 British historical drama directed by Ken Russell and starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. It is based partially on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, and partially on the 1960 play The Devils by John Whiting, also based on Huxley's book...

(1971), which depicts Grandier's trial and death, Mother Joan of the Angels instead depicts the events after his death. The nuns continued to be possessed for four years after his death, and further exorcisms were carried out by the sincere and deeply spiritual Father Joseph Suryn whose main concern was helping Sister Jeanne.

Critical reception

The film was recommended by Philip Jenkinson
Philip Jenkinson
Philip Jenkinson is a British cinema specialist, journalist, BBC television presenter and film collector. His collection was known as Filmfinders.-Early life:...

in the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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