La Monaca de Monza

 (1969)

This film is an accurate account of an incident which happened in 17th century Italy. The Spanish have occupied Italy. A Spanish tax collector is killed by a young Italian nobleman named Giampaolo Osio. A local priest arranges for him to hide in the convent of Monza, where the mother superior is also of noble birth. Two other nuns, who are sleeping with their priest and confessor, decide that the mother superior would be far less a threat if she got laid, so they smuggle Giampaolo Osio into her cell. He rapes her, but by the half way point, she is enjoying herself. The two begin a romance and she conceives a daughter. Eventually, the other nuns vote her out, and she is tried by the Inquisition. Things do not end well for her or Giampaolo Osio.

Die Nonne von Monza (1969), aka The Lady of Monza and originally La Monaca di Monza, is not what I expected. Whenever I see "nun" in a Spanish, Italian, German or Japanese title, I expect nunsploitation, with lots of nudity, lesbianism, torture, discipline and often satanic rituals. This film, on the other hand,  is more like a historical costumer and morality play than a nunsploitation film. The story is not without interest, however, and clearly points out that being an Italian Catholic in the early 17th century sucked, especially if you were a woman.

Our Grade:

If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to read the explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by our definition, a C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:

C-

It could be higher based on the quality of the film and the features, but is barely watchable because of the poor condition of the DVD transfer.

NUDITY REPORT

• Almost none! Anne Heywood shows a bit of her breasts as she is having thorns wrapped around her chest to chastise the flesh and end her lust.

THE CRITICS AND ACADEMIES

THE BOX OFFICE

Unknown