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Mother Joan of the Angels

Original title: Matka Joanna od Aniolów
  • 19611961
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
  • Drama
  • Horror
  • Mystery
A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jerzy Kawalerowicz
  • Writers
    • Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz(novel)
    • Tadeusz Konwicki(screenplay)
    • Jerzy Kawalerowicz(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Lucyna Winnicka
    • Mieczyslaw Voit
    • Anna Ciepielewska
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jerzy Kawalerowicz
  • Writers
    • Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz(novel)
    • Tadeusz Konwicki(screenplay)
    • Jerzy Kawalerowicz(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Lucyna Winnicka
    • Mieczyslaw Voit
    • Anna Ciepielewska
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 12User reviews
    • 34Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination

    Photos33

    Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Mieczyslaw Voit in Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Lucyna Winnicka in Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Mieczyslaw Voit in Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)
    Anna Ciepielewska in Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lucyna Winnicka
    Lucyna Winnicka
    • Mother Joan of the Angelsas Mother Joan of the Angels
    Mieczyslaw Voit
    Mieczyslaw Voit
    • Father Jozef Surynas Father Jozef Suryn…
    Anna Ciepielewska
    Anna Ciepielewska
    • Sister Malgorzataas Sister Malgorzata
    Maria Chwalibóg
    Maria Chwalibóg
    • Antosiaas Antosia
    Kazimierz Fabisiak
    Kazimierz Fabisiak
    • Father Brymas Father Brym
    Stanislaw Jasiukiewicz
    Stanislaw Jasiukiewicz
    • Squireas Squire
    Zygmunt Zintel
    Zygmunt Zintel
    • Wincenty Wolodkowiczas Wincenty Wolodkowicz
    Jerzy Kaczmarek
    • Kaziukas Kaziuk
    Franciszek Pieczka
    Franciszek Pieczka
    • Odrynas Odryn
    Jaroslaw Kuszewski
    • Jurajas Juraj
    Lech Wojciechowski
    Lech Wojciechowski
    • Piatkowskias Piatkowski
    Marian Nosek
    • Dominican Priestas Dominican Priest
    Jerzy Walden
    • Dominican Priestas Dominican Priest
    Marian Nowak
    Zygmunt Malawski
    Zygmunt Malawski
    • Exorcistas Exorcist
    Stanislaw Szymczyk
    Andrzej Antkowiak
    • Young Jewas Young Jew
    • (uncredited)
    Halina Billing-Wohl
    Halina Billing-Wohl
    • Nunas Nun
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jerzy Kawalerowicz
    • Writers
      • Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz(novel)
      • Tadeusz Konwicki(screenplay)
      • Jerzy Kawalerowicz(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Set in the 17th century. A convent in a small town is being visited by high-ranking Catholic official trying to exorcise the nun supposedly posessed by demons. A local priest have been burnt for creating this condition by sexual temptation of the nuns, especially the Mother superior who bring on the collective hysteria of the group. There is another young priest who is to help with the exorcism. His first meeting with the convent head, Mother Joanne of the Angels, has her seemingly posessed by Satan - she yells blasphemies and incites the priest. She begs the priest to save her and to help her to be a saint. —Polish Cinema Database <http://info.fuw.edu.pl/Filmy/>
    • 17th century
    • isolation
    • jew
    • hysteria
    • murder
    • 30 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Special Jury Award, Cannes 1961
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Horror
      • Mystery
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Based on the same 17th century historical incident that was also the basis for Ken Russell's "The Devils".
    • Quotes

      Father Jozef Suryn: All redemption is in love. Love is as strong as death.

    • Connections
      Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: A lengyel film (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Theme Music
      Performed by the The Polish Radio Choir (as Polish Radio Choirs)

      Conducted by Tadeusz Dobrzanski

    User reviews12

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Amazing and obscure horror gem
    Directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz and inspired by the (presumably) real case of the "Loudun Possessions", the story of "Mother Joan of the Angels" is set on the seventeenth century, in a small village in Poland. There, a priest known as Jozef Suryn (Mieczyslaw Voit ) is sent to a convent, to help a group of nuns, who have been suffering from demonic possessions, especially Mother Joan (Lucyna Winnicka). As soon as Jozef meets Mother Joan, she threatens him with her diabolic voice and tells him that it won't be easy to cast the demons away and that she's not afraid of him. From that moment on, Father Jozef finds himself fighting and struggling to help the poor Mother Joan and cast the evil forces away.

    This films offers the classic "good vs. evil" battle, by showing common places, such as the evil woman and the courageous man who fights against all odds, risking his own life, because he's so kind-hearted that he feels compelled to save the ill-fated woman. These archetypes are mostly shown in the two main characters (Jozef and Mother Joan), although these two are not the only ones. The rest of the nuns, for example, look eerie and unsettling throughout most of the film. There's something strangely disturbing about the nuns in this film, something about the way they move and the look in their eyes, which combines numbness and malevolence at the same time.

    "Mother Joan of the Angels" is a film that probably doesn't have much of a scare value compared to the newer films, but I would like to think that anyone who has a little bit of patience and doesn't expect gore and explicit violence, will be able to appreciate it for what it is. This type of horror is not for everybody but there's a lot of things that make this film very dark and powerful. While the new audiences would probably disagree with me, I think this film is not as slow-paced as it looks, judging by the first minutes. As I mentioned before, the key is to have a little patience, allow the character development, until reaching the well-awaited climax.

    Visually speaking, "Mother Joan of the Angels" is pretty much flawless. Thought there aren't any amazing special effects, the shots, the setting and the contrasting photography create a very dark atmosphere, which is reminiscent of a dream-like sequence. There's something strange about this film: on the one hand, it is unsettling and dark, but there's also something very soothing about it. I'm not sure if it's the beautiful landscapes, the fact that it is black and white, the long philosophical dialogs or maybe all of those things combined.

    The acting is mostly perfect, especially the main actress, Lucyna Winnicka, who manages to convey the poor innocent woman and the evil woman at the same time, without looking campy. Her expressions, her body language, her voice and the way she moves is impressive. I am not easily scared, but I will say that I was very impressed with the scenes involving "evil" Mother Joan. As for the male lead, there's really nothing to complain, as he delivers a perfectly believable character, but simply not as memorable as his female counterpart. As a matter of fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how good were most of the actors, as I was expecting something overly histrionic and more campy.
    helpful•12
    4
    • Milo-Jeeder
    • Jan 23, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 9, 1961 (Poland)
    • Country of origin
      • Poland
    • Languages
      • Polish
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • Joan of the Angels?
    • Filming locations
      • Józefów, Lódzkie, Poland
    • Production companies
      • Film Polski Film Agency
      • Studio Filmowe Kadr
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 50 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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