"the dehumanizing effect of cloistered life"

The synopses for movies are not written by the filmmakers. They're written by regular old contributors to IMBD. Some of them do a good job, some of them don't, but it's always their personal take on the film. Quite often, they're poorly written and inaccurate. This one is particularly inaccurate since the contributor writes about her natural musical gifts, and she can barely play an instrument and when she sings she's clearly tone-deaf. I wouldn't take anything else they wrote seriously, either. Judging the film by what some idiot says about it is like refusing to read a book because some illiterate says it's boring.

It's a brilliant novel, written in the era in which it takes place. I'm sure the movie is worth watching. It's not anti-catholic, it's more about the specific era and what happened (quite often) to young women who were forced into the church in order to get rid of them. While this novel centers around a daughter who was banished because she was illegitimate, but it was not uncommon for a family who could only afford a dowry for one daughter to give the rest of their daughters to the church.

Not all women experienced the tragedies exposed in this book, although many did. For some, it ended up being a life-saving retreat from the drudgery of bearing children until you either died or dried up (the only other option available for women in that era). For others it was a life of imprisonment. In no way is it meant to mirror the modern era of cloistered nuns. To think so would be inane.

Don't turn your nose up at the movie because some inaccurately written synopsis offended your religious sensibilities. Not all of the church history is pretty, but considering the impact on the evolution of western civilization, it's usually worth exploring.



Movies are IQ tests; the IMDB boards are how people broadcast their score.

@Jane_Claire

I agree with the well-stated response from kay_rock. The film is very well done and not a true reflection of the IMDb user's synopsis to which you refer.

There are happy, faithful, kind, cloistered nuns in this film - the first Mother Superior is lovely - but the film is reflecting on one woman's struggle with the lifestyle, as she was forced into it by her family and under pressure to atone for the "sins" of her birth mother; it was essentially a prison from which only a powerful, male benefactor could secretly plan her escape.

The film's female character had next-to-no choice 255 years ago, unlike your modern friends that likely entered the cloistered lifestyle willingly, full of faith, and without a heavy heart...and they can leave if desired. It's not a fair comparison, really.

Considering that you haven't seen the film, I'm not sure what you mean by "LOL...nice try, though...", as the film adaptation is fairly true to the famous novel, and the acting is top-notch. Well, at least you're laughing!



"Don't get chumpatized!" - The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)