Mother Joan of the Angels

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Mother Joan of the Angels is the English title for Matka Joanna od aniolów, a film released in 1961, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.

This film is very loosely based on the outbreak of mass hysteria in the French town of Loudun that occurred in the 1630s. A convent of Ursuline nuns, led by the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne of the Angels, became obsessed with a handsome, womanising priest, Urbain Grandier, but when he turned down their 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. Although the allegations were ridiculous, Grandier had made many enemies, including Cardinal Richelieu, the real power behind the throne of Louis XIII. Grandier was tried, inevitably found guilty of witchcraft, tortured and burned at the stake, protesting his innocence to the end. The nuns continued to be possessed for four years after his death. But whereas the priests involved in the mass exorcisms used to implicate Grandier were malicious, sadistic and dishonest charlatans who had a score to settle with the priest, many of the exorcisms after his death were carried out by the sincere and deeply spiritual Father Joseph Suryn whose main concern was helping Sister Jeanne. The first part of this story, leading up to Grandier's death, formed the basis for Ken Russell's 1971 shocker The Devils, the second part of the story inspired Mother Joan of the Angels.

Set in the 17th century, 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 at a nearby convent after a local priest was burnt for sexually tempting the nuns. The next day, he sets out for the convent, where he meets its abbess, Mother Joan (Lucyna Winnicka), 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.

Shooting in a high contrast black and white, Kawalerowicz emphasizes the physical aspects of the seeming take-over of all-too-human bodies by demons; the images of the white-clad nuns convulsing in what might be ecstasy or might be torment are truly unforgettable. The confrontation between Father Suryn and Mother Joan forms the core of the film, as each will test the limits of the other's faith and sense of identity.