Word: conventions
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...spark that ignites this particular witch trial lies in the perfervid erotic imagination of Sister Jeanne (Martha Henry), prioress of St. Ursula's Convent in the town of Loudun. She tells her confessor that in tormented night hours, she is forced to utter obscene words and participate in obscene acts. The nuns in her charge are similarly afflicted. In a fit of possession, with her strangulated sepulchral voice suggesting The Exorcist, Sister Jeanne reveals the devil inside -Grandier-a neighboring vicar whom she has never actually seen...
...CORE of the play is Angelo's realization of his sexuality. He presents a deal to Claudio's sister, Isabella, a strictly moral novice, who is called from her convent to argue on her brother's behalf. He tells her she can prostitute herself to him in exchange for her brother's life, or she can allow Claudio to die. Isabella never actually chooses between the alternatives. The Duke has been nearby all the while masquerading as a friar. He helps Isabella trick Angelo, furthering his own purpose of determining "if power change purpose...what our seemers...
Argan is also beset by his wife Beline (Stacia Zabusky), who wants to send Argan's daughters into a convent and collect their half of his money when he dies...
Viridiana. In 1960, Luis Bunuel returned to his native Spain after a 25-year exile to make this provocative film. It follows the odyssey of a crusading young nun who upon leaving her convent for the home of a perverse uncle, naively tries to turn the estate into a home for reforming a band of low-lifers and beggars. But the patronized riff-raff don't buy it, and when she absents herself they make their new home the scene of a wild feast and orgy. In the end, the idealistic man compromises with the forces of the evil reality...
Much of Spark's subtle irony is converted to heavy-handed attempts at humor. Mocking the pretentious religiosity of the nuns, Enders portrays them as hard-drinking, smoking, and cursing women. Life in the convent is by no means bacchanalian, but Jackson still insists on drinking Chateau Lafitte Rothschild to excess. And Enders assumes that it is inherently amusing to show nuns talking about "screwing" their enemies as well as the neighborhood Jesuit priests. Instead of mordant commentary, Enders employs cheap shots...