TITLE: The Sinful Nuns of St. Valentine
TAGLINE: N/A
DESCRIPTION: Lucita has been locked away in a convent by her family in order to keep her away from her lover, Esteban. The pair make plans to elope, but Esteban is accused of heresy before Lucita can escape. Hiding in the convent, Esteban discovers the horrifying depravity of the convent's abbess, Sister Incarnation. Can Esteban rescue his love from this madhouse before the inquisitor discovers what is going on and has everyone executed? [IMDB]
DIRECTOR: Sergio Greico
YEAR: 1974
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Italy
RUNTIME: 93 min
SUBTITLED/DUBBED: Subtitled
IMDB PAGE
ROTTENTOMATOES
REVIEW:
Let me begin by expressing humility enough to recognize that some movies really don’t need reviews: 1970s soft-cores especially rent with nary a reservation. That said, after watching this self-proclaimed sleaze epic, this “nunsploitation” film of the highest order, I find myself with a pressing need to make the following exclamations (forgive the excessive caps!):
1) OH MY GOD IT’S A SOFT-CORE WITH MORE PLOT THAN MOST 1970S EUROHORRORS.
A wonderfully mood-setting pursuit on horse, and subsequent sword fight, set up this film about a dashing Romeo, Esteban Albornos, and his Juliet, Lucita Fuentes. Esteban, accused of heresy, dogged by the Inquisition, holes up to nurse his wounds in the convent Lucita has been sentenced to by her parents, in their effort to keep these two lovebirds apart. (They didn't do a very good job of it, huh?) The presence of the Inquisition is made worse by the sinful nature of the women in this convent -- Lucita's cellmate, Josefa, who learns of Lucita's affair and uses blackmail to have her wicked way with the poor novice; and Mother Incarnation, who has a sadistic streak and her own wanton designs. Fortunately for Lucita, someone offs Josefa early on. Not so fortunately for Lucita, she's fingered as the culprit, and ultimately confesses to protect Esteban. Too bad people are burned for that kind of thing -- and with the debauched nature of just about the whole convent revealed in turn, the Inquisition seals up the whole nunnery inside their estate, while Esteban struggles to free his beloved from their clutches.
Do you see? Do you see how that actually makes sense? That sound you hear is weeping. Mine.
2) OH MY GOD IT’S A SOFT-CORE WITH BETTER ACTING THAN MOST EUROHORRORS.
All right, that's not saying much -- I know. But when I started feeling strange tingly feelings about Jenny Tamburi's plight as Lucita, and for reasons other than her bare-breasted, breathless state, I knew I was witnessing a strange cinematic feat in action. Esteban, too, played by Paolo Malco, seems perfectly able to be expressive, and when forced to play a dark role with Mother Incarnation takes altogether grimly to the task. Even secondary characters are well drawn out here, with the poor novitiate flogged by Mother Incarnation making you sorry for her as much as her predicament is intended to titillate. And yes, Bruna Beani is given no subtlety to her character, Josefa, with even the darkly arched eyebrows casting an evil pallour over her, but when the Grand Inquisitor realizes Lucita's punishment must be death by burning, his speech to this end is a chilling performance; and when the groundskeeper cycles through a wide range of emotional responses -- wanting Esteban out, not wanting him to leave until it's safe -- the transitions are all perfectly sensible to his performance. Even the evil Mother Incarnation plays out her deceit extraordinarily well, favoured by some subtle camerawork to demonstrate how she's clued into Esteban and Lucita's affair.
Am I impressed? Heck yes, I'm impressed. Remember, we're still talking about what is ostensibly an "epic sleaze" film, a "nunsploitation" piece of unmatched proportions. The mind boggles.
c) OH MY GOD REDEMPTION BRAND INTRODUCTIONS ACTUALLY GROW ON YOU, LIKE A FUNGUS OR A MOLD.
Yes, I was astonished to find that, as boring as I've found some of the mini-introductions used by Redemption Films for other pieces in their collection, I was actually fully endeared to this one. Was it something about the particular story arc so unsubtly played out in a '90s-era BDSM environment, with all the cheesy leathersploitation, fake blood, art-house writhing, and monotone narrative therein? Or did I just find myself growing fond of what these introductions do, collectively, for the audience and the films contained therein? I couldn't say for certain, but I'm very glad I wasn't bored.
As for the actual sexploitation in the film -- the core, I expect, of most people's interest in the film -- I have to say it was a lot tamer than I expected. Yes, plenty of female top nudity, and flogging, and torture. We also see the den of nun-tastic debauchery bedecked in all its fine young female plunder (the old ladies, thankful, we don't have to see). And these nuns are indeed champing at the bit for female flesh, while Esteban also gets good mileage in the film.
But overall? We still have the sad hanging of one nun, and enough other violence and gruesome imagery -- including a corpse dug up fresh from its grave -- that this piece, for all its appeals to "eurosleaze," maintains a balance between erotic delight and the other, often grave realities of life in the Inquisition. In short, while soft-core aficionados will be endeared by its effectively forwarded bounty of breasts, this piece is just as much worthwhile for anyone interested in euro-intrigue films, period. Seriously. I'd pick this over Night of the Hunted any day.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING AIDS: An appreciation for the female form, and a broad expectation set for soft-core Eurosleaze.
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