The Nun's Story
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 13+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
A young woman becomes a nun and works as a nurse in Africa. She tries very hard to obey, but it is hard for her. In the end she asks to leave the convent. This is a serious, beautiful film about a vocation that does not hold. It treats religious life with respect and shows good and bad sisters alike, but it never says whether her leaving was right. The one age is 13, set by the Legion of Decency's A-II. Expect a mentally ill patient who attacks Sister Luke, her illness with tuberculosis, the death of her father under the Nazis, and a long, quiet ending with no answer.
For parents
Best for teens and up. The Legion of Decency rated it A-II, which sets the age at 13. Common Sense Media could not be checked. Children need the frame. Leaving religious life through a proper dispensation is not a sin, and the film shows her asking for one. But the vows are a gift, not a cage. Point out the superior who tells her to fail an exam on purpose for humility. Decent Films notes another superior says that advice was wrong. Ask: what is obedience for? Was Sister Luke's struggle the Rule's fault, the others' fault, or her own? Can we pray for someone whose vocation is hard?