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Place Carmela Maria Rosa Mercedes de Simone on the bed, as God made her and

law has ordained.

Now place at her side Enrico Maria Ettore da Scala, as God made him and the

has ordained.

As loyal and obedient subjects of the Lord Almighty's bountiful and sovereign

wisdom, we are gathered this 5th of April in the year of our Lord, 1624.

To unite the families de Simone and de la Scala in the persons of their

respective offspring.

Enrico Maria Ricardo Etere de la Scala, do you promise and swear to take as your

wife upon coming of age Carmela Maria Rosa Mercedes de Simone?

The promise of your father is binding.

Duke Guillermo de la Scala?

I promise he shall do so.

You, Carmela Maria Rosa de Simone, promise and swear to take as your

Enrico Maria Ricardo Etere de la Scala?

The response of your father is binding, Marquis Antonio de Simone. I promise he

shall.

Please join hands.

And now, Don Luigi will bless this nuptial contract, which duly records the

future marriage partner's rights.

of succession and inheritance.

It must be my father's men looking for me.

No, it's worse.

What could be worse than our being discovered?

Getting put in the army.

Come on.

But you're not a soldier.

What's the war to do with you?

I could be recruited.

Anyone my age.

That must be why they want to hurry up my wedding to Enrico.

You didn't tell me.

I didn't want to spoil our moment together.

We meet so rarely, Julie.

Oh, my sweet love.

I'll love you always, whatever happens.

Why can't you manage to convince your father?

You can't imagine how many times I've tried.

You won't listen to me.

He signed a contract when I was a baby which promises my marriage to Enrico.

He did, but you had nothing whatever to do with it.

I'm his daughter. I'm expected to obey.

Look, darling, my family and his have intended to join their properties and

fiefs for years.

Those dirty landlords.

to the war.

The war.

God knows you've been a disappointment.

But your refusal to marry the man to whom you are legally betrothed brings

dishonor upon my name and your mother's.

Your place is in a humiliating position, both morally and legally.

I've covered yourself with ignominy.

And don't think that I don't know that you've been meeting that peasant boy in

secret.

Well, you shall never marry him, I assure you.

You may go.

If

you

don't want your daughter to be completely ruined, there's only one

Get her to a nunnery.

For that, I thank you.

It'll look to the world as if we let Carmela reject it.

If she puts on a veil as the bride of the Lord, no one can claim you're

dishonored.

My name is Thomas Senior.

I guard the gates to the outside.

Here is the visitor's room.

This is my lodging.

Now take your leave.

You must go then, Martianette. If we open the outside gates, we keep the

cloister entrance closed.

Must I really separate myself from you, my family, my home, the field, the

flowers, the earth, from all the things I most love?

My child, you must accept it.

I'm sure you'll find a new life here in the service of our Lord and the

happiness you deserve.

May God keep you well.

Such a lot you've brought that you'll never need. Ah, but money, though.

And any jewel that you may have, you'd better leave with me or you'll lose it.

In the cloister, you have to give up anything of value.

I'll protect it if you'll entrust it to me.

Oh, why not? There's no reason to fear. Your jewels will be at your disposal

always.

Thank you. When you speak to the others, they have to be addressed as sister,

though not the superior. She's addressed as mother.

Thank you, sister.

We welcome you.

She's pretty.

I'll bet she's ugly without that dress.

We'll soon find out.

It is forbidden to stand apart in isolation without Mother Superior's

permission. I deserve to fast.

Repeat it.

Perhaps she didn't hear.

I deserve to fast.

In the dowry of this new arrival, I count six linen sheets only, not a

the number required.

I also have silk ones.

And embroidered, too.

Such pretty needlepoint.

What is missing, I shall have to report to the family of this new arrival.

We are forbidden to gaze at images that show male nudes disguised as our Lord.

The good Lord have mercy on me.

The sashcloth of penance is blessed.

Your lantern has to be kept lit.

It must burn like the flame within your heart, which burns without cease for

Christ our Lord and Saviour.

As you commit our roles to memory from morn till night.

A novice has 30 days in which to learn the rules of our order by heart.

I have to stay 30 days in this cellar?

Yes.

Your newcomer, Tater, passed a purifying test and shall be under supervision all

the time.

We allow what is needful for rest and prayers.

Body cleansing and their nourishment, which is in conformity with Franciscan

vows of poverty, and finally for their bodily needs.

All that is needed is blessed in the Lord.

The well are not tended, but they that are ailing bring unto me the many

evildoers that need curing.

Thus saith the Apostle Matthew.

And during this phase, you must bear this passage in mind.

The well are not tended, but they that are ailing.

Bring unto me the many evildoers that need curing.

The elder nuns will supervise you in turn.

Never say a word to them, even to answer a question.

Seven times a day did I praise these sad prophets.

With the holy number seven, we perform the duties of our office.

At lords, at prime, at tierce, at sext, at non, at vespers, and at compline.

Every day at four in the morning, the praises should be recited.

A dish of boiled beans once a day except Friday, the day of total abstinence.

To refuse food is a grave act of disobedience because it is the bounty of

Lord.

It is night, the hour of Compline.

I am reduced to nothing, and I am nothing, saith the prophet.

I am in thine eyes as a beast of the field, but I am ever with thee.

Never say a word to them, even to answer a question.

Today is the 15th day.

Don't despair.

The well are not tended, but the sick.

Oh, Christ, I have sinned. Lord, help me.

I'm Elizabeth.

The isolation period is horrible. We've all gone through it.

Mitrice and Michela, two novices like you. What did I tell you?

She's ugly. Your name is Carmela, isn't it?

Yes, sister.

You'll soon be all right. Living here isn't as bad as it seems.

You only need to find the right friends.

Stay away from Sister Philomena, for example.

She's a spy.

She had Sister Chiara punished.

There she is over there, tied to the tree.

Don't even speak to Sister Philomena if you can help it. And don't ever trust

her.

You need my advice.

Above all, don't trust the Mother Superior.

She seems sincere.

But she's a hypocrite and a liar.

Here she comes.

Camilla!

I'm your mother superior.

How do you feel now?

Better, I hope.

You'll soon be happy in your new life.

Would you like to be called Sister Agnes?

Sister Agnes of the infant Jesus.

You may go.

I don't think I have enough faith.

Don't tire yourself.

We have plenty of time to talk.

I'm here because my father... I understand.

Try not to cry.

Just trust me.

You are part of a new family now.

A much bigger family.

And you'll have lots of sisters.

Some of them, unfortunately, are not as good as others, but... I'll look after

you.

I'll be on you, Mother.

And I'll follow your steps, one by one, just as if you're beginning to walk.

This will be your cell.

The new arrivals always ask where their dowries have gone.

Yes. They are sent to the church on which our convent is dependent.

They feed so many mouths with so much charity.

Do you see much charity in making new arrivals feel uncomfortable?

Are you envious of youth?

Then let me help you.

The first time you needn't wear it so tight.

You're looking for a mirror.

The rose forbid it.

But I'll look at you.

And I see that you're beautiful.

But you mustn't be vain.

Vanity is a sin.

But one that's not too serious.

Carmela. That's Sister Lucia.

You tried to defend her when you first arrived.

Remember?

But you weren't there.

No, but I saw you.

It was then I decided you would become my friend.

Be very kind to me.

However, whatever you do for Sister Lucia is wasted.

She's lost her mind.

Watch out. Here comes a spy.

There are roads that seem straight, but they lead down to the fires of hell.

For what crime can one be expelled from the common?

How naive you are.

You only leave here when you're dead.

However, another way can be arranged.

You will learn it from me.

I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know.

Well, as Lorenzo the Magnificent said, you never can be sure about tomorrow.

He's right, especially with women.

You don't have very much respect for women, do you? On the contrary, I find

they're delightful, though their constant desire to catch the male is so

transparent in every gesture that sometimes they're boring.

Well, I can't say I find them boring. They readily come out to parties, to the

theater.

To the country with me.

But it's quite another thing whenever I try staying alone with them.

You should never appear to try, my friend.

You use the wrong method.

Come on, let's have a cold blood.

Don Diego, I understand you even have a cloistered nun in your collection of

women.

Well,

that's quite a claim.

Love needs a touch of spice to make it more appetizing.

I imagine that a cloistered nun bound to abstinence

must be very peppery.

They're delicious, my friend.

Have you been paid? Oh, yes.

Elizabeth? Diego.

My, you look beautiful.

I imagine your absence from me frightens you. Just like at first, huh?

As a love nest, it leaves much to be desired.

I find it very exciting.

And your apparent calm excites me even more.

I am calm.

No.

You are a particularly beautiful woman.

And no beautiful woman can be calm.

It's the waves that make the sea so suggestive. And its dark depths,

and mysterious.

I'm not just any woman.

That's true.

What's that bell? Were they looking for you?

No.

It's the call to evening prayers, which each of us recites in her own bell.

And instead of praying...

What does a nun really do in her cell?

Sometimes she receives other nuns.

I've always found intimacy between women... the best stimulant love can

And... what you do.

Witches.

Like this? In secret.

Though no one will know.

Is that what you wanted to hear?

What else?

We caress each other.

Mother superior prepares us spiritually for confession.

It's one of our rules Remember

No, the rules are severe.

It's up to us to make them bearable.

To make them a part of our daily lives.

None of us is born with the vocation.

But I believe that... I believe that in the depths of our souls, there's a small

flame that we can build...

bit by bit, day by day, until we grow to accept this

life of penitence, this life of penitence to which our Lord has called

us.

Here, far from the outside world,

We live each day more intensely.

But don't be sad.

I'd like to see your eyes always joyful.

I'll help you erase the memories.

I see them, you know, in your eyes.

But it's you, with your sweetness, you make the memories beautiful.

The world outside is so cruel.

You know that well.

I need your affection.

May I kiss your cheek?

Father, during the night, such awful visions I had of hell. I dreamt I'd

my hands over the flames.

Well, as long as you don't do it during the day in the kitchen, sister, you have

nothing to fear, I would say.

But perhaps this dream may have been a warning to you and not just a figment of

your imagination.

Sister, what sins have your hands committed?

I must save that question to be answered later when I confess you.

Yesterday I stole a bullfather and buried it in the garden.

Sometimes the temptation to steal is so strong.

A demon is tempting you to sin. You must exorcise this demon. He is a tool of

the devil.

Punish your hands to be saved.

Otherwise, I cannot grant you absolution.

It's your turn.

Did he ask you where you put your hand?

How do you know?

He asks everyone.

It's an obsession.

Sister Elizabeth, it's Carmela.

I'm afraid.

What are those screams?

Don't worry.

It's Sister Lucia, the mad one who's screaming.

Every so often she does it and then she comes down.

We all ignore it. Now go back to your cell.

It is forbidden to leave one's own cell at night I deserve corporal

punishment It is forbidden to leave one's own cell at night I deserve

punishment

Ten times is enough.

She's only a novice.

Let us pray.

Untie her.

Why did you not come to me if you were afraid?

You must trust me.

I still love you.

You needn't wear that today.

Thank you, Mother.

Your skin will soon be healed.

I'm sorry I had to punish you.

It was to put you on your guard.

Sister Elizabeth, she's very strong.

She does as she likes.

You see, her family made a very large contribution to the convent.

She has special privileges that even go as high up as the archbishop.

She's not always alone at night, I know.

It's difficult for me to be impartial.

But it's my duty to look after the novices.

Especially you.

Poor Sister Lucia.

Buried in unconsecrated ground like a dog.

Ah, I'm sure our Lord in his infinite goodness and wisdom will have mercy on

on the day of judgment. She never wanted to become a nun.

That's what made her lose her mind.

Her mind was possessed by a demon.

Otherwise, Sister Lucia might have lived to be a perfect nun, as few nuns are,

if the truth be told.

She had many good qualities, but she was weak, and the devil laid his hands on

her.

Good was overcome by evil.

I know you're not able to resist.

That's why I invited you.

You see, we lack nothing here.

Not even the Mother Superior's licorice.

Mr. Chiara punishes herself for what she does with her hands.

It's her penance.

How does it make you feel?

I don't know.

There are some things that are hard to put into words. So true.

There are thoughts that remain inside of us.

It takes another person to be aware of them.

We've been waiting for you to drink.

You're the guest of honor.

Do you like them?

Try them on.

Mine's right here.

Pick out something else you like. It's more amusing.

Everyone's free to do what they like.

They fit you perfectly.

You can have them.

Look at yourself, Carmela. You're still a woman.

Everyone get dressed.

What's wrong?

It reminds me of home.

My birthday party.

Young boys and girls having a good time.

I was perfectly happy.

But here there are no boys.

Ah, I have been waiting to speak with you for months.

I know that now you are leaving.

But first...

I must open my heart to you.

I have loved you in secret, sir.

And I hoped you loved me too.

I'll

start.

I thought it was all over.

That you no longer loved me.

You say, how could you think that?

How could you think that? A bit more warmth, please.

It's not true. That's better.

So you still belong to me?

Oh, certainly.

You have never betrayed me?

No.

Come to my arms like you used to.

But what do you want?

Your body.

Haven't you come here to offer yourself to me?

I didn't expect to.

You'll love another person.

We have to leave. That's Sister Rita's signal.

The

game

is over.

Take off your traveling dress.

We'll elope together another time.

May I see your work?

Do you no longer stand when you're spoken to?

You obviously didn't sleep very well last night.

You weren't able to concentrate. Your work isn't up to its usual standard.

I feel it is.

I'm the one to decide. I know that all too well.

For your behavior, you will be punished.

Once more.

I'm upset.

Why?

I had a slight annoyance.

You are annoyed?

With your mother, Superior?

Yes Your rival you're in love Yes

Please, no, there's no need to stand. I didn't come to give you orders.

I'm... I'm so alone.

You... you can't imagine how great my solitude is.

Closed in my tower of authority.

I'm more a prisoner than all the others.

Please. Oh, I need a little human warmth.

A little love.

Here, we have... We have love of prayer.

Divine love.

Love of God.

And I do love God.

But it doesn't erase the fact that I have this desire for another human

You... You're the only pure one here.

And I'm so desperate.

Leave.

I beg you, Mother, leave.

It's I who beg you.

Look at me.

Please.

Just one more time.

And I'll go away.

I've hurt you.

Forgive me.

But it's nothing.

Nothing to the hurt that you've caused me.

I'm a guy. Coming attached to you.

Elizabeth, I can help you to get free.

I'll keep you in my villa.

Another concert?

No, thank you.

I prefer to see you here.

It's more exciting.

I've come to fancy life in the convent.

After all, one can find affection there, too.

Let's not talk anymore.

Maria Rosa, answer with purity of mind and in full freedom of conscience.

I shall.

Do you come here of your own free will to swear before God to consecrate

your chastity, your poverty and obedience, child?

I do not.

Yes, my daughter. You consecrate your chastity, poverty, and your obedience to

God. Your Grace, you ask me to swear chastity, poverty, and obedience before

God. I understand you perfectly, and my answer is no.

I can't deceive God in this way.

Above all, I appeal to my father and mother.

Beatrice Maria Rolanda.

Will you answer with purity of mind and in full freedom of conscience?

Yes, I shall.

This is our last meeting.

I have no desire to see you again.

Of course, I've realized it's a minor cross for you to bear.

But I've ordered your mother and your brothers and your sisters never to see

again.

You'll feel your loving kindness and obedient nature.

of which so many happy displays are token, will help you to bear this cross

I have no doubt.

You're not only a disappointment to your family, but a disappointment here.

I say you are a changeling.

You're no flesh of mine.

You cost me more pain than any of my children, perhaps because I had such

hopes for you.

But you're not my child.

For me, you were born dead.

You were born dead.

Be not wise in your own conceit.

Repay no one with evil for evil, but with good in the sight of all.

From St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans.

Now let us pray for our soldiers, for the Allied flag of the Holy Roman

for the arms that defend our Christianity, for our victory.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Julian's here.

Oh, but what can I do?

It's been a year since the last time I saw him, before I came here.

But I love him.

You understand.

You must see him.

But, Sister, how?

Can I trust Sister Rita or Sister Thomasina?

It's better not to.

Trust me.

I'll think about your meeting.

And how to avoid the danger of being discovered.

Oh, Sister Elizabeth, do you mean it?

Will you really do it for me? Of course.

I like to see you so full of enthusiasm.

I will always be grateful to you.

One day you'll do something for me. Oh, yes.

Julian!

They are together now. Good.

Thank you.

I've no one anymore.

In all this while, only the thought of you kept me alive.

I was certain that one day we'd meet again.

I hoped we would, too.

But then, with all the wrongs we both suffered, I began to lose heart.

My faith.

My trust in men.

There's something in you now that frightens me.

Don't be afraid, my love.

My feelings for you will always be the same.

Take me away from here.

Don't you want to?

Of course.

But where could we live?

We can't live in this country.

A nun who runs away from a convent is shunned by everyone. We'd be outcasts.

We'd have nothing.

But we'd have each other.

Yes.

But to flee together, we need first money and friends to hide us.

And I'd have to run away from the army.

Once you said soldiers were robbers.

You called them outlaws then.

Now you steal.

You have changed.

Yes, I know, but I had no choice.

You look radiant. Come to my room tonight. We'll all be there.

Let's make love together.

I invited you.

You can't go away like this.

Well, then.

You prefer the Mother Superior?

The Mother Superior?

What are you saying?

How could you?

It's true, though, isn't it?

No!

Why humiliate me?

Haven't I been your friend since the first moment you entered the convent?

You led me to believe you cared as I do.

I never let you believe that.

Then what am I supposed to think about your conduct toward me?

Were you faking?

I'm sorry that you... Then prove to me that you're sorry.

Do I repulse you?

You don't know how much I've waited for this moment.

And the courage it took to speak to you.

Till now I've interpreted your every gesture, your every word, as meaning

you might even care for me.

I degrade myself.

I'm no longer myself next to you.

Now, nothing matters to me unless I can love you always.

Together we can find a way.

No, it's not my fault. It's not my fault if you've misunderstood.

You're clever.

I'll make you regret it.

Now I'm the one who doesn't want you.

Get out.

It makes life hard for me.

I like to hear her quarrels between nuns.

Tell me more.

You must take care of the young man.

What do you want me to do?

Tell me.

If he should... That

should

be amusing.

Sister, I'd like to have those things I gave you when I arrived here.

But you may keep half of them.

What for?

What do you want to do? Run away with him?

Anyway, your things, like all of the others, are kept under lock and key. You

should have warned me. There you go.

But don't forget, if the inquisitors catch a nun who runs away, she can even

put to death.

Hurry.

Oh, God.

Told you, he wasn't to be killed, but only cut up a certain way.

Someone's coming.

Julian?

Oh, good, Julian.

of what Carmela says has happened.

We must presume she was delirious.

How is she today?

She has stopped crying and murmured senseless phrases.

May the Lord have mercy on our sister Carmela.

Let us pray for her.

Thank you.

Jesus, I bless 1 ,000 times the moment that you came into this world.

You who suffered for us.

You whose flesh was humiliated and martyred.

You can understand me.

You died for our sins.

Please forgive me.

I beg you, give me the strength to continue living.

Mother of God, intercede with your son.

Ave Maria.

Gratia plena.

Dominus tecum.

Benedicta tu es in mulieribus.

et benedictus fructus tuis, Iesu.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccato ribul, nunc et in hora

mortis nostre.

What you have confessed is terrible.

For a nun to have a child is a desecration.

You must be put in the isolation cell.

I'll do the best I can.

I'll try to keep the secret within the convent walls.

Forgive me, Mother.

Please, what can I do?

Nothing.

You can do nothing.

You cannot destroy the fruits of your womb.

What is it? More soldiers?

No.

No, it's the carts.

Taking the women to their men.

Julian.

Carmela, you have to be strong.

Her time is here.

Fetch Sister Rita.

It will be Julian.

We'll baptize him, Julian.

What saint is he?

I know one Saint Julian. He was a soldier in the Roman Empire.

Saint Julian the Martyr, he's called. But also the Humane, for the hospitals

helped provide.

What a beautiful name.

Would your grace authorize me to investigate the convent?

You shall.

I too shall go, and will break the cloister seal in the presence of the

shameful blight not only on this convent and our diocese, but the entire

religious community of our country.

I warn you, concealing the guilty is also a capital sin in the eyes of the

church.

And unless you surrender freely to the secular arm, this fiend you are hiding,

you are all in league with the devil.

Now!

Which is the mother?

I want to know the mother!

She is.

Yes.

It's true.

I'm the mother. No.

She's lying.

I'm the mother.

The sisters are not telling the truth.

I'm the mother. Wait!

It's nothing to be ashamed of.

I'm the mother.

It's not true I'm the mother.

Enough! Silence!

Now let only the guilty nun confess her crime.

I am the mother.

He's my son.

No, he's my son.

He's my son. Do you hear?

I'm the mother.

He's my son.

If every nun claims it, you laugh at me.

Now the diocese will close your rebellious conference.

with the baby.

If you wear these men's clothes, it'll be easier for you.

In a few hours, there'll be no one left here. We're being sent away.

The soldiers are coming to escort us tomorrow.

The order's been dissolved.

I'm not worthy of your sacrifice.

That's not true. You'll be treated horribly in the convents where you're

won't you?

Don't think about it.

It's almost daylight.

Mother, she has to go now.

I'd like to say goodbye to the others.

No, it would be dangerous.

Could you ever forgive me?

I've already forgiven you.

Here's your jewelry.

And more from all of us.

It'll be useful.

Thank you, sister.

Wait a little.

When we're all out of the place, go wait by the ruined church.

You'll see a woman who will look after you there.

Excuse me, sister.

Have you seen a young man with a baby?

I was supposed to dress like a man.

I didn't.

But I'm the one you were to meet.

But is your habit worn every day?

Or did you borrow the veil?

If God has accepted the vows I made in my heart, I'm truly a nun.

Well, help me.

What is your name?

Sister Agnes.

What will you do from now on?

Aid those who suffer in this world.

You have courage, sister.