The Nun's Story

Sister Luke enters a convent in Belgium as a young woman (perhaps just 18) in the mid-to-late 1920s. The film traces her life as she moves from being a novice to an experienced nurse in the Congo, to her time as a nurse in Europe during World War II. Her fundamentally compassionate nature makes it difficult for her to be properly obedient to the rule that nuns must follow. Moreover, as the intelligent daughter of a famous doctor, she takes pride in who she is and what she can do, which is also a problem.

I myself have been largely untouched by religion for most of my life. Growing up, I mainly remember having many Jewish friends, but not knowing much about Christianity or other religions. So films like this and books like The Sparrow at their best mainly touch me by helping me understand how people who are firm believers in a religion function, what their faith means to them, and what they get out of it. But always, there's a strong contrast in that I simply can't see ever applying those principles to my own life.

For instance, at first overtly and later subtly, it's clear that Sister Luke is supposed to find her relationship with God to be her greatest and only reward. Pride or pleasure in her work, and (it seems) even appreciation of her situation when it is fortuitous are not things she can fully experience. But as a nonbeliever, I just can't wrap my mind around this concept: I don't believe the human mind (except maybe in exceedingly rare cases) can truly face this sort of adversity and let it wash over them. It needs something in the here-and-now to appreciate or look forward to. So her superiors' actions to try to (essentially) beat her pride and disobedience out of her seem like a slow form of torture, to me.

But, it certainly could just be me. No one's ever accused me of being short on pride. Indeed, it seems that having a selfless outlook towards the world could be very pleasant, at times. I also thought about discipline during the film, and wondered whether I'm not disciplined enough, because it seems like I never get around to some of the things I want to be doing, or if I'm already so disciplined that I'm incapable of enjoying life to the degree that perhaps I ought.

Back to the film: Hepburn does a terrific job as Sister Luke, a very different role from what else I've seen her in. For instance, although she clearly has some feelings for Dr. Fortunati (Peter Finch) whom she works for in Kenya, it doesn't become a romance, except with a few of the barest hints.

The cinematography is lovely. The convent where she takes her vows looks nice enough, but the scenes in Africa are really beautiful. But the film also shows the dark side of the area, as Sister Luke visits a leper colony. And even though some of the lepers are relatively grotesque (leprosy isn't, that I've seen, something that you ever see much of on TV or the silver screen), I'm sure they were relatively tame compared to some real-life cases. The film also includes some rough scenes in an insane asylum.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. It ends slightly abruptly (which is something to say, since the film is two-and-a-half hours long) and leaves you wondering "What happens next?" But it's a fairly logical point for the film to end. I'd say this one's worth checking out.

I didn't accomplish nearly as much today as I'd wanted to. I did go jogging this morning; it hit nearly 70 degrees today, so I figured I ought to get out at least once to experience the nice weather. Otherwise, I bought groceries, did laundry, watched some taped television, and worked on getting my laptop in shape.

Oh, and yesterday I moved my end table into the living room. It had been languishing next to my bed since I moved in, holding accumulated crap, and I decided it would do more good in the living room holding my ethernet hub, laptop, and serving as a convenient place to light incense and scented candles. And I've been making much use of it in just this short time. A good decision, I think.

My bedroom is seeming kind of sparse, but I will likely not do anything about it anytime soon. I'll probably move before I make any furniture purchases or do any major alterations to my floor plan. That's the hope, anyway.

It's time for... kitty photos!

Here's a cute shot of the guys sleeping together on my papasan:

And here's a really wacky shot of Newton lunging at the camera, which I call "Mutant Kitties":