I didn't understand that scene between the murderer and the nun. What was the man's purpose?
shareThe man believed he was being haunted by the spirit of his wife. His witch doctor had told him he needed to kill a white woman to exorcise that ghost. I've not read the book and expect the scene is more fully described there. My guess is that the sister was the first white woman he saw after the witch doctor and thus she became his victim.
shareThe line was, "The witch docotr told him he would be rid of the ghost of his dead wife." It is a critical part of the movie, because when the "boys" see than the nuns forgive the killer, the head "boy" converts to Catholocism... therefore Sister Aurlee's death is not in vain!
shareWell, in their view it was not in vain. But it really was, since Catholicism is no better than whatever their beliefs were.
share"Well, in their view it was not in vain. But it really was, since Catholicism is no better than whatever their beliefs were."
Right. The nuns were beating natives to death to exorcise their ghosts! Oh, wait, that wasn't in the movie?
"Right. The nuns were beating natives to death to exorcise their ghosts! Oh, wait, that wasn't in the movie?"
Yeah, because no Catholic has ever killed anyone. Ever.
"Yeah, because no Catholic has ever killed anyone. Ever."
You're right. There are thousands of missonary nurse nuns who have hacked countless tribesmen to death with machetes!
I know it's true - I read it on Wikipedia! (::eyeroll::)
He was told to by a witchdoctor--one of the Africans tells Sister Luke that the witchdoctor had told the killer to kill a white woman (I think it might have been a white nun specifically in the book, though I'd have to check that), in order to stop being haunted by his dead wife's ghost! But the good that comes of it is that that African orderly--which the dead sister had been trying to convert--finally does come to service when the nuns are not vengeful but forgiving of the murder. Actually, I remember the murder being even more powerful in the book, because (as I recall) he did a great deal of damage with the first blow, & she sort of pushed him out of the patient area on full automatic, so to speak. Note how scared he looked in the film--he couldn't believe she was still standing, much less walking towards him. In the book, by the time it was over (with fewer blows, I think), it was noted the only thing holding her skull together was the wimple...truly creepy & sad.
The process of getting there is the quality of being there