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The Nun's Story

The Nun's Story

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautiful Movie - One of Hepburn's Best
Review: I have a copy of this movie that I taped from a TV broadcast and am awaiting the opportunity to see it in DVD with it's widescreen format and all the extras that this medium can offer. I think it was one of the best Audrey Hepburn movies that I ever saw. I'm not Catholic but after seeing this movie I often wondered if I would ever have the fortitude and be worthy enough to become one. Even though dated in it's presentation of the rigors of becoming a nun it was an inspiration to those who feel the call. Selflessness and service are commodities not often seen these days.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Nun Story : The Failure of the Flesh
Review: I have found the Nun's Story to be a fascinating study of what the "fleshly" Christian experiences when he/she tries to lead the Christian life. Saint Paul draws an important distinction between the truly spiritual Christian and the fleshly or carnal Christian. The fleshly Christian tries to obey and please God in his own strength, or--to use another term--by relying on his flesh. When Sister Luke reaches the end of her own resources, that is, the resources of her flesh, she realizes her life in the convent and to obey God, is impossible for her. It would take a miracle for her to be able to forgive the Germans after she learns that they have savagely killer her father.

But that's just the point!! It would have been a truly inspiring story if at this point, Sister Luke gets down on her knees, utterly broken by the events of the world, and prays something like the following,"Dear Lord, I cannot do what you ask me to do, You will have to do it for me and in me--by revealing Your dear Son, Jesus Christ in me. In my own strength, in my flesh, I am absolutely powerless! I am absolutely depending on your grace and Life. It is utterly impossible for me to forgive these Germans--apart from you! Amen!!" This, I think, is what Paul is talking about when he says in II Corinthians 12:9 that God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for [My]power is perfected in [your] weakness."

One night, Corrie Ten Boom experienced this dependence on God when she finished preaching on forgiveness, only to find the former German prison guard, the man responsible for the death of her beloved sister, standing before her at the altar call. She confessed to God, her inability to forgive the man--in her own strength, i.e., in her flesh--and called out to God to forgive him through her, that is, to give her the supernatural ability to forgive. And He answered her prayer! She forgave the man with tears in her eyes, to the glory of God, the Father!!

A parallel can likewise be drawn to the film "The Keys of the Kingdom," starring Gregory Peck. In this film a very proud nun, learns to depend on the indwelling life of Christ to meet her needs to be loving. She remarks, "It's odd that my moment of deepest humiliation has also brought me to my moment of deepest peace." (I'm paraphrasing.)

It is intriguing and frustrating to watch The Nun's Story, but I learned a lot about my own walk through watching it and reflecting on it deeply.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Nun I wish I had in school
Review: I really don't know if I can find the right words to describe what I think of this movie. Growing up Catholic in the late 50's & 60's made this movie really hit a cord. As a child, I really wanted to be a nun because of the "cool outfits". The first time I saw this movie, I loved it because of all the neat behind the scenes things you saw about the mysterious world of the Convent. As I grew older, I finally realized that this movie was about the tremendous internal struggle Sister Luke had with being who she really was vs what she thought she wanted to be. Any time I can catch this movie I do, the story never grows old and Sister Lukes's struggles seem relevant today. The really poingnant thing about the movie is seeing the naive earnestness of the Colonials in Africa and knowing what fate they will meet 25 years later when the natives rise up and destroy them.
Audrey Hepburn is incredible as a nun, she does such a great job conveying Sister Luke's stubborn resolve not to be completely cowed by the convent & it's rules. She is determined to stay an individual and she does. Needless to say, the rest of the cast is pretty impressive as well. It's a beautiful movie, with magnificent settings and a wonderful message.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dreadful
Review: I wish I had known the film was about the triumph of selfishness and pride before purchasing it. I found the film carried a strong anti-Catholic message in justifying the nun's abandonment of her solemn vows, rather than seeing her departure as her personal failure.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Conflicted Soul
Review: In a truly great performance, Audrey Hepburn stars as Gabrielle (and later, Sister Luke), a young Belgian girl and daughter of a famous surgeon, who enters the convent with the ultimate dream of working as a nurse in the Belgian Congo. From the outset, Hepburn has difficulty working within the vow of obedience, and it becomes a daily struggle to remain faithful to her vow. The struggle becomes more pronounced in the Congo when working with Peter Finch, a brilliant surgeon who sees her conflict but is not a believer. Hepburn and Finch have a relationship that is one of the highlights of this film. The Nun's Story is not an action packed feature, but rather a character study about coming to grips with one's faith, character, and true self. Hepburn does a terrific job of portraying Sister Luke's conflicts, all the more difficult given the emotional restraint she must show in the role of a nun. The supporting cast of film veterans adds to the excellence of the acting. I also enjoyed the insight into the training and demands placed on nuns. The level of sacrifice required surprised me, and although it's not an experience that most of us will ever have ourselves, there's much about human nature that can be appreciated and learned in this film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another excellent display of Audrey's talent
Review: In this powerful and emotional tale, Audrey plays a young nun who struggles to conform to convent life. Her performance is stunning.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Disobedient Nun's Story
Review: It is quite an entertaining for a secular viewers but rather a very disturbing thing to the soul of those who understand what it means for taking vow of obedience in the religious order. To me, the movie is about an ambitious nurse who takes advantage of the religious life for her own fame. There is no spiritual inpriration or any benefit for any good catholic viewer who may know what a real value of a consecrated person should be.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hep-py now?
Review: It's a testament to the filmmakers that the scene in which Sister Luke signs papers to leave the church has real gravity.
The final shot sits on the fence, that is if to say "you can walk in as well as out", but I found it too distracting. I kept thinking: "You close doors behind you." Guess I'm not terribly spiritual, then.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hep-py now?
Review: It's a testament to the filmmakers that the scene in which Sister Luke signs papers to leave the church has real gravity.
The final shot sits on the fence, that is if to say "you can walk in as well as out", but I found it too distracting. I kept thinking: "You close doors behind you." Guess I'm not terribly spiritual, then.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hep-py now?
Review: It's a testament to the filmmakers that the scene in which Sister Luke signs papers to leave the church has real gravity.
The final shot sits on the fence, that is if to say "you can walk in as well as out", but I found it too distracting. I kept thinking: "You close doors behind you." Guess I'm not terribly spiritual, then.


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