Place Carmela Maria Rosa Mercedes De Simoni on the bed...
as God made her and the law has ordained.
Now place at her side Enrico Maria Etorre Della Scalla...
as God made him and the law has ordained.
As loyal and obedient subjects of the Lord Almighty's...
bountiful and sovereign wisdom, we are gathered...
this Fifth of April in the year of our Lord 1624...
to unite the families De Simoni and Della Scalla...
in the persons of their respective offspring.
Enrico Maria Ricardo Etorre Della Scalla...
do you promise and swear to take as your wife...
upon coming of age Carmela Maria Rosa Mercedes De Simoni?
The promise of your father is binding.
Duke Guglielmo Della Scalla?
I promise he shall do so.
Do you, Carmela Rosa De Simoni, promise and swear...
to take as your husband Enrico Maria Ricardo...
Etorre Della Scalla?
The response of your father is binding.
Marquess Antonio De Simoni?
I promise she shall.
Please join hands.
And now, Don Luigi will bless this nuptial contract...
which duly records the future marriage partners' rights...
of succession and inheritance.
Oh, Julian.
Column by the left, ho!
Julian, 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.
So, 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 moments together.
We meet so rarely Julian.
Oh my sweet love.
I'll love you always, whatever happens to us.
Why can't you manage to convince your father?
You can't imagine how many times I've tried.
He 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.
Don't say that, please.
Well then better 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.
You have placed us in a humiliating position...
both morally and legally.
You have covered yourself with ignominy.
And don't think that I don't know...
that you've been meeting that peasant boy in secret.
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 remedy.
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 Tomasina. I guard the gate to the outside.
Here is the visitors room.
This is my lodging.
Now take your leaves.
You must go then, Marchioness.
If we open the outside gate...
we keep the cloister entrance closed.
Mother?
Must I really separate myself from you...
my family, my home, the fields, 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.
Oh, such a lot you brought that you'll never need.
Ah, but money, though.
And any jewelry you may have...
you 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.
Why not? There's no reason to fear.
Your jewels will be at your disposal always.
There.
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.
Mm, 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 dozen, 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 sackcloth 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 Savior.
As you commit our rules 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.
Here newcomers stay to pass a purifying test...
and shall be under supervision all the time.
We allow what is needed for rest and prayers.
Body cleansing and bare nourishment...
which is in conformity with Franciscan vows of poverty.
And finally for the bodily needs.
All that is needed is blessed in the Lord.
The well are not tended, but they are that ailing.
Bring unto me the many evildoers that need curing.
Thus sayeth 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, 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 thee, sayeth the prophet...
with the holy number seven we perform the duties...
of our office.
Every day at four in the morning...
the praises shall 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 our Lord.
It is night, the hour of compline.
I am reduced to nothing and I am nothing...
sayeth the prophet.
I am in mine eyes as a beast of the field...
but I am ever with thee.
My God, I can't stand it!
Oh my God, have you no mercy on me?
I want to die!
Let me out!
I'll kill myself.
Oh please, someone, oh please let me out!
I beg of you, whoever you are, Sister...
tell them I can't go on!
I don't want to!
Tell them I'm going stark raving mad!
This is a day of fasting. Have patience, Sister.
Tell me your name, Sister.
The elder nuns will supervise you in turn.
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 Elisabeth.
The isolation period is horrible. We've all gone through it.
Beatrice and Michaela, 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 Filomena, 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 Filomena...
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.
Carmela.
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.
Mother, I don't think I have enough faith.
Don't tire yourself.
We have plenty of time to talk.
I'm here because my fa...
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 your new 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?
Come, let me help you.
The first time you needn't wear it so tight.
You're looking for a mirror. The rules 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.
You're very kind, Sister.
However, whatever you do for Sister Lucia is wasted.
She's lost her mind.
Watch out, here comes the 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 convent?
How naive you are.
No, you only leave here when you're dead.
However, another way can be arranged.
You will learn it from me.
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 plunge.
Don Diego, I understand you even have a cloistered nun...
in your collection of women.
Mm.
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.
Elisabeth.
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 exciting and mysterious.
I'm not just any woman.
That's true.
What's that bell? Are they looking for you?
No, it's the call to evening prayers...
which each of us recites in her own cell.
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 have.
And, uh...
what do you do?
We kiss.
Like this?
In secret.
So 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, don't trust her.
I know 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 burnt 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?
Well, I must save that question...
to be answered later, when I confess you.
Yesterday, I stole a bowl, Father...
and buried it in the garden.
Sometimes the temptation to steal is so strong.
A demon is tempting you to sin.
You must exorcize 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 hands?
How do you know?
He asks everyone. It's an obsession.
Sister, Sister Elisabeth, 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 calms 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 corporal punishment.
Enough!
Seven 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 Elisabeth, 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.
Oh, my God.
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 her 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 liqueur.
Sister 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?
Oh.
Try them on.
Mine's not here.
Pick out something else you like. It's more amusing.
Everyone's free to do as they like.
They fit you perfectly.
You can have them.
Look at yourself, Carmela. You're still a woman.
Everyone, get dressed.
Oh, that's beautiful. What a color for you.
Let's try some powder.
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 (laughs).
But, what do you want?
Your body.
Haven't you come here to offer yourself to me?
I didn't expect to.
Do you 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 can't imagine how great my solitude is.
Closed in my tower of authority.
I'm more a prisoner than all of the others.
Please, oh, I need a little human warmth.
A little love.
Here, we have...
we have love at prayer.
Divine love.
Love of God.
And, and I do love God.
But it doesn't erase the fact that...
I have this desire for another human being.
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 becoming attached to you.
Elisabeth?
I can help you to get free.
I'll keep you in my villa.
Another convent?
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.
Carmela 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 asked 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 realize it's a minor cross for you to bear.
But I've ordered your mother, and your brothers...
and your sisters never to see you again.
Your free-loving kindness and obedient nature...
of which so many happy displays are token...
will help you to bear this cross too, 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 caused me more pain than any of my children...
perhaps because I had such high hopes for you.
But you're not my child.
For me, you were born dead. You were born dead.
Keep in line there.
Move up.
Close ranks.
Come on now, move along.
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 Church.
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 Tomasina?
It's better not to.
Trust me.
I'll think about your meeting.
And how to avoid the danger of being discovered.
Oh, Sister Elisabeth, 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 the all 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.
But I love you all the same.
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?
Hm, 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 that 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 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 of quarrels between nuns.
Tell me more.
You must take care of the young man.
You excite me more than any woman I've ever known.
What do you want me to do?
Tell me.
If he should come for a rendezvous...
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.
Let her go.
But don't forget, if the inquisitors catch a nun...
who runs away, she can even be put to death.
Hurry.
I told you, he wasn't to be killed...
but only cut up a certain way.
Someone's coming.
Julian?
They killed him!
Carmela, that's wrong?
He's dead!
No!
They've killed him!
No, no no no!
Murderers!
Let me go!
They've killed him, my Julian.
Let me go, let me go! I want to die too.
I don't want to live without him.
She said someone killed Julian.
I have no one! No family!
Now they they've killed Julian...
I have nothing left to live for.
Let me die!
Julian!
It was you. She did it.
It was you.
Me? I know nothing.
Yes you do! You do!
She did it!
Damn the day I was born.
Carmela!
Are you mad?
Damn you all!
Take her away.
Damn you, the whole lot of you!
Let me go!
I want to die. Let me kill myself!
Let me go!
Oh!
Sisters, we can find no trace neither inside...
nor outside the convent walls...
of what Carmela says has happened.
We must presume she was delirious.
How is she today?
She has stopped crying and murmurs senseless phrases.
May the Lord have mercy on our sister Carmela.
Let us pray for her.
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.
Amen.
Through thy death and burial.
Deliver us, O Lord.
Through thy holy resurrection.
Deliver us, O Lord.
Through thy admirable ascension.
Deliver us, O Lord.
Through the coming of the Holy Spirit...
the comforter.
Deliver us, O Lord.
In the day of judgment.
Deliver us.
Mother of our Savior.
Pray for us.
Help her, quickly.
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.
Oh, Julian.
Carmela, you have to be strong.
Her time is near.
Fetch Sister Rita.
His name will be Julian.
We'll baptize him Julian.
Which saint is he?
I know one St. Julian.
He was a soldier in the Roman Empire.
St. Julian the Martyr, he's called.
But also the humane, for the hospitals he helped provide.
It's such a beautiful name.
No!
More, Carmela, more.
Push.
You have to help us.
That's it.
Just like that.
Harder, don't relax.
Just a little more.
Come, come, come.
Oh.
That's it.
More.
Oh, oh.
Oh.
Carmela.
If what the person has written in this anonymous report...
is a fact, it's indefensible.
Would Your Grace authorize me to investigate the convent?
You shall.
I too shall go, and we'll break the cloister seal...
in the presence of the militia.
What has happened here is infamous!
A 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.
It's my child. He's mine.
Enough, enough! Silence!
I'm the mother.
No, I'm the mother.
If every nun claims it, you laugh at me!
Now the diocese will close your rebellious convent!
I'm the mother. I'm the mother.
Carmela, you'll have to leave with the baby.
If you wear these men's clothes, it'll be easier for you.
In a few hours, they'll be no one left here.
We're being sent away.
The soldiers are coming to escort us tomorrow.
The order is being dissolved.
I'm not worthy of your sacrifice.
That's not true.
You'll be treated horribly...
in the convents where you're placed, won't you?
Don't think about it.
Mother.
Mother, God bless you.
It's almost daylight.
Mother, she has to go now.
Carmela.
Go.
I'd like to say goodbye to the others.
No, it will be dangerous.
Could you ever forgive me?
I've already forgiven you.
Goodbye.
I love 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.