MovieChat Forums > Sister My Sister (1995) Discussion > Christine and the Nun

Christine and the Nun

posted 15 years ago by bwfilmfan
5 replies | jump to latest

I hava a question. I just saw this film the first time last night, and I can't figure out a particular scene. I think it was Christine who they showed at the convent in a flashback and she is describing in tears how the nun wouldn't acknowledge her, and you can see the nun consciously recoiling from her as she walks down the steps away from their bedrooms. Was this meant to imply sexual abuse in the convent, or only that Christine had a possesive, covetous nature already, especially towards women she felt an emotional connection to?

Again, I think it was Christine, but I was grimacing and looking away often, so maybe it was Lea's flashback, but I don't think so. At any rate the same questions would apply.

[–] klou-junk 15 years ago

I'm in the middle of watching this fascinating film (in four parts) on TV-Life.com and it is definitely Christine in the flashback scene with the nun. I don't think this is meant to imply sexual abuse in the convent, only that Christine has a history of abandonment and neglect from caretakers (her mother, the nun) and also that she has always had this covetous nature, perhaps as a means to try to fill the symbolic void of the rejecting mother figure.

You can always rewatch the movie for free from tvlife site (http://www.tv-life.com/movies/sister-my-sister-1994/), as long as you don't mind that it's somewhat out of focus and has chinese subtitles. hope my two cents helps!

ps--what were you grimacing and looking away?

[–] Suriname86 8 years ago

Christine seeks mother figures and intimacy. The Lady of the house was a mother figure to her in the sense that she admired her. When the lady of the house invaded the kitchen and silently criticized her, she associated the event with the rejection she's felt in the past from mother-figures like the nun and her mother.

[–] beavertoof 7 years ago

I think that scene was important.. to me it seemed to signify that Christine had been sexually abused by the older sister, and equated that with love.. so she was shocked and psychologically scarred by the rejection in the 'light-of-day' when she approaches the sister expecting affection.

[–] rlg0613 7 years ago

I believe that the nun was Christine and Lea's older sister Émilia. Christine and Émilia were very close (only in a sisterly way) and Émilia did become a nun. Read up on the Papin sisters.

[–] beavertoof 7 years ago

I believe that the nun was Christine and Lea's older sister Émilia. Christine and Émilia were very close (only in a sisterly way) and Émilia did become a nun.

Ahhhh.. that makes the scene make more sense now. I wish they would have made that a bit more obvious.