Simply A Masterpiece

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Newby's film is based on the true story of Christine Carpenter, who in the 14th century was renounced as dead to the living world by the church, and enclosed as an anchoress for the rest of her life in the wall of a village church in Shere in Surray. The inspiration for the film, according to screenwriter Judith Stanely-Smith, was a letter concerning Christine written by the Bishop of Winchester in 1324.In the film Christine, a 14-year old illiterate peasant girl, finds herself drawn to a statue of the Virgin Mary. Meanwhile the village priest and "reeve" (Sheriff) are increasingly drawn to the beautiful Christine. The reeve proposed marriage to the girl, but Christine refuses the offer to the dismay of her mother, Pauline. Instead at the urging of a priest Christine becomes an anchoress so she can live next to the statue she so adores (and escape the possibility of marriage to the reeve). Her mother Pauline does not like her decision and plots against the priest. When Pauline, the village doctor and midwife, delivers the illegitimate stillborn child of the priests lover, the priest begins to plot against her. He accuses her of witchcraft and Pauline is killed by a mob. Meanwhile Christine has escaped from her cell through a tunnel and flees with her lover to Winchester to seek release from her vows from the Bishop there. The Bishop refuses and she "escapes" to run away with her love (although the ending scene is ambiguous if she really found freedom or a new kind of prison).Historically, the film is very accurate and instructive to understanding on an emotional and personal level the idea of Christian sexual renunciation and asceticism in the Middle Ages. The film also portrays well the interactions between secular and ecclesiastical powers over the lives of peasants. The reeves French-like accent is very accurate as a Norman lord (although the bald head is questionable). The Bishops Mediteranian accent and Latin language is also accurate. This film will appeal to anyone with an interest in the Middle Ages and history.

If this film appears sparse to some I would remind the viewer that agrarian life 500+ years ago was just that. What Anchoress may lack in dialogue is made up for in sound, texture, and detailed attention to lighting, mostly outdoor. Very few films (Seventh Seal) are able to capture the stark setting of the underpopulated reality that was Europe - not all historical scenarios need be drowned with battle sequences, lavishly dressed royals, and epic soundtracks aimed to fill empty spaces. No one lived like that except a small few. I would recommend this film to anyone who has an appreciation of women's history, and ancient Christian mysticism. The story of Christine's descent into the church, her rebirth, and eventual retreat into the earth is beautifully filmed and acted by all involved in this unique project. A scene not to be missed is Christine's fabulously angry mother pissing before the priest on his own church yard. Why all the pagans out there who frequent this site have not championed this movie is beyond me!

I have not much to say about the movie, and I am not going to tell everyone what to think of the plot, for it isn't the best story I have seen, although it is not bad at all (!). But I decided on giving a small comment because I was very much impressed by the unbelievable photography. I myself am a filmstudent, and the special, exact and mysterious atmosphere that was given to this movie is something to be unbelievably jealous of. Apart from the light (and SHADOW) and the images, the sound is also adding to a movie very worth the effort of watching. Everything goes very slowly, taking the time to make every image just perfect. Wether you like the story or not, after seeing this movie you just HAVE to admit that it at least LOOKS and SOUNDS great!

Exquisitely spare cinematography and striking visuals which ape Andrei Tarkovsky's ANDREI RUBLEV cannot save this medieval tale from being a disappointment. English director Chris Newby's first feature is a dismally muddled array of images of life in a remote 14th-century village. Talented young thespian Natalie Morse (of Peter GreenawayÕs DROWNING BY NUMBERS) nevertheless succeeds in her tricky role as Christine Carpenter, a girl touched by transcendent grace, who succumbs to the misguided religious authority of the times and becomes an anchoress, a virgin who is walled up in a chamber in the church, to serve as a moral beacon for the villagers.This makes the snickering local priest (Christopher Eccleston) overjoyed, as he takes her away from the Reeve (Eugene Bervoets, of the original French-Dutch production of THE VANISHING), the local military power monger. She is periodically visited by her surly pagan mother (English new-wave personality Toyah Wilcox) and pretty much ignored by her father, who is played by Pete Postlethwaite.The only real power in the film is in the scenes with Christine alone, discovering her sensuality. The rest of the film is a mess, partly due to the confusing, overly obscure script, which hardly lets the audience know what's going on without benefit of reading a plot synopsis beforehand. It purports to observe the female condition through the ages, but ends up being mostly uninsightful and boring.