Le monache

This film is probably hard to come by in other countries, but I absolutely recommend it to anyone who's interested in early lesbian movies and/or art cinema. As for the former category, I couldn't say any other movies (worldwide!) from this period (before the 1980s) that handle lesbianism so sensitively and with so much understanding. It is already a big deal to choose a lesbian nun as the positive main character - and to choose an excellent actress for this part. I like it that the film doesn't pass judgment on Virginia for having same-sex (or in fact any) desires. We're just genuinely sorry that she wastes herself on an unworthy person.

Of course, lesbianism is just a sideline to the plot, which is basically about power struggle in a cloister, the fight between reformists and conservatives. In fact, the novel on which the film is based focuses more on this, and the love story is marginal. In the film, however, the two factors intertwine much more. Virginia is brilliant as a reformist but blind as a lover, and mixing emotions with work doom her fate and that of the reforms she would like to initiate.