The Audrey Hepburn Blogathon: The Nun’s Story (dir. Fred Zinnemann, 1959)

Image source: IMDB WARNING: This post is going to indulge in major spoilers for The Nun’s Story. And by major spoilers, I mean basically the entire movie. If you haven’t seen it and care about being spoiled, just go watch it then come back to this post. It’s a great movie and it features Audrey Hepburn’s best performance, just take my word for it. A title like The Nun’s Story is deceptive, particularly when you throw Audrey Hepburn into the leading role. You might expect something light and feel-good in tone, or some soapy melodrama in which romance contests with Jesus for the heroine’s devotion. Instead, the film provides us with one of the best cinematic examinations of an individual’s struggles with organized religion and personal conscience. We are called to observe this one character’s attachment to and struggle with her faith, and perhaps to reflect on our own relationship with religion, community, and ourselves. The time is 1930. The place is Belgium. Our heroine is Gabrielle…