Cécile De France is a lot prettier than the original singing nun, so the film instantly loses some credibility with that. De France does play her part with verve, though. Sandrine Blancke, Marie Kremer and the actor who played her manager (I'm not able to trace his name) are worth a mention as well. Visually, the film is quite fine, and the music (it may be a love it or hate it-thing) is terrific.
The story is a roller-coaster ride of events (not in action sense of the word, but there is just a lot going on with hardly any time to breathe), in which all parties (the main character, her girlfriend, her parents and sister, the nuns, the Catholic church) get their shot at sympathy, even if the Catholic church (rightfully) comes off as a stern institute that will (ab)use its influence every which way it can and feels it must.
Jeannine Deckers herself is a somewhat naive young woman, but with her background and the powerful institute that she takes on, she must also be considered a fighter who deserves a lot of respect. She took her chances, but she was right to get angry with the priest who basically set her up to get hurt. Would she have listened to him if he had advised against her plans to spread her wings? I doubt that, also.
This could have been a very good film if it had taken more time to elaborate on certain aspects of Deckers' life, now it is a pretty good film that tells a remarkable and important story about the struggles of a young female in a society that was at that time severely under the influence of a religious institute. And, considering the fact that this institute (and other religions) is still out there and essentially has not changed much, makes things all the more poignant.
A good 7 out of 10.
The story is a roller-coaster ride of events (not in action sense of the word, but there is just a lot going on with hardly any time to breathe), in which all parties (the main character, her girlfriend, her parents and sister, the nuns, the Catholic church) get their shot at sympathy, even if the Catholic church (rightfully) comes off as a stern institute that will (ab)use its influence every which way it can and feels it must.
Jeannine Deckers herself is a somewhat naive young woman, but with her background and the powerful institute that she takes on, she must also be considered a fighter who deserves a lot of respect. She took her chances, but she was right to get angry with the priest who basically set her up to get hurt. Would she have listened to him if he had advised against her plans to spread her wings? I doubt that, also.
This could have been a very good film if it had taken more time to elaborate on certain aspects of Deckers' life, now it is a pretty good film that tells a remarkable and important story about the struggles of a young female in a society that was at that time severely under the influence of a religious institute. And, considering the fact that this institute (and other religions) is still out there and essentially has not changed much, makes things all the more poignant.
A good 7 out of 10.