Novitiate (2017)

In a dark, cold, rainy day, there is nothing better than to cuddle up on the couch under a blanket and watch a movie.

As I was flicking through Netflix, I came across Novitiate, and remembering all the fuss a couple of years ago, I decided to watch it, and I am glad I did.

The movie is directed and written by Maggie Betts, with Mellisa Leo as the Mother Superior Marie Saint-Clair, and Margaret Qualley as Sister Cathleen Harris.

The movie is set in 1960 during the radical changes throughout the world under Vatican II, and it depicts the shifts in ideology and the seizing of long-held beliefs and the brutality and rigidity of the rules practiced, by trying to shift the ideology to foster openness and inclusiveness.

Not long into the movie, maybe about 10 minutes or so, when a young Cathleen enters catholic school, the teacher nun writes in the blackboard:

"There is no love without sacrifice," at that moment I felt like I was living in the convent once again.

Granted, my experiences were different as Cathleen was a 17-year-old postulant and I was 8 years old when I was sent to the convent. Needless to say, the teachings were the same as I was there in the late 50's early 60's. Many parts of the movie resonated in my sub-conscience, bringing back many forgotten memories.

As in the picture, we had to walk slowly and always looking at the floor. Even when we spoke with somebody, and that was only to answer a question as we were not allowed to speak; we had to look down, never at somebody's face. We were also thought that we should kneel on pebbles until our knees bled, so God can see how much we loved him, and he would love us more than mere people that kneeled on a comfy hassock.

 I can attest that the brutality and rigidity of the rules were unbearable.

We were too young to do flagellation, even though that we were told that once we were older, we should do it. However, only once a week and only five flagellations, as doing it longer might give us enjoyment. 

As in the movie, my Mother Superior was to be replaced because she refused to adapt to the new rules; however, she renounced her vocation as most of the nun at my school did, and they all left the convent.

I don’t know if Mother Superior Margarethe, had a soothing voice, the only time I heard her voice was for reprimands and it was always stern, besides, in my opinion, she was sadistic and manipulative, and she thought that she was better than everybody else. Moreover, I do not remember seeing her leave the convent on any occasion.

I can understand Mother Superior Marie Saint-Claire reasoning for not wanting to adjust to the new rules, and why she was so stern, as she believed she was the voice of God in the convent. And as somebody that had not left the convent for over 40 years, she was delusional in her beliefs. Also, living that way has to be frustrating.

The film is well made and very strong, and I liked that they did not criticize the Catholic religion or defend it. They merely showed what it was like, without judging, without treating the believers as idiots and without trying to get the public to accept a religious ideology.

They showed the notion that the postulants had about being nuns, at the same time they showed the concerns they felt about a life so rigorous and so remote from the real world.

The movie is slow and long, however, that it’s how I felt when I was in the convent, the days were long and slow, the weeks, the months, they seem never to end. The only thing I liked was singing in the choir and the embroidery classes.

FYI, I went to a Carmelita's convent, if you are Catholic you know who they are, if you are not, they are one of the most rigid, if not the most rigid, silent order.