Nunsploitation is the genre that, according to certain connoisseurs, began in 1969 with Lady of Monza, Italian film by Eriprando Visconti. In reality, that film was actually quite mainstream and serious period drama, based on the true events related to Marianna de Levya y Marino a.k.a. Sister Virginia Maria (1575 – 1650), real historical figure which, among other things, had inspired certain parts of The Betrothed, classic novel by Alessandro Manzoni. Eleven years later Bruno Mattei, prolific author of Italian exploitation cinema, covered the same story in The True Story of the Nun of Monza, period erotic drama directed under pseudonym “Stefan Oblowsky”.
The plot begins with Marianna de Levya (played by Zora Kerova), daughter of rich and powerful noble Don Martino de Levya (played by Antonio Aureli), becoming a nun and entering the convent in the city of Monza under name Sister Virginia Maria. Her early days in convent are marked by increasingly erotic dreams, but the greatest danger to her virtue comes from the outside. She, as a beautiful woman, has aroused attention of Giampaolo Osio (played by Mario Cutini), local noble infamous for violence and womanising. Osio’s best friend happens to be Don Paolo Arrigone (played by Franco Garofalo), priest who happens to have sex with some of the nuns from the convent and who volunteers to help Osio to seduce Sister Virginia. Osio’s plans are complicated with the death of Sister Virginia’s father, after which she inherits his wealth and influence and uses it to become new Mother Superior. But Osio nevertheless succeeds in having his way with her, which ultimately leads to passionate love affair, pregnancy, blackmail and, ultimately, murder which would be Sister Virginia’s downfall.
Bruno Mattei doesn’t waste time of showing the prospective audience what kind of film are about to see. Scene of Sister Virginia’s initiation is intercut with the scene of a stallion copulating with mare, much to delight of couple of decadent nobles and their female companions who watch the spectacle. Viewers who pass this litmus test and decide to watch the rest of the film might see Mattei somewhat more restrained. There is a lot of sleaze in the film, but the nudity and various forms of sex, that include rapes, BDSM, lesbianism or orgies, never go beyond the limit of softcore erotica. There is very little actual violence and even less gore. Mattei directs film well and the soundtrack by Gianni Marchetti adds a lot to atmosphere of the film. Cast is also very good. Zora Kerova, Czech actress who played a lot of roles in 1970s and early 1980s exploitation films (and arguably best known for her character’s gruesome demise in Cannibal Ferox) actually takes role very seriously and convincingly portrays character torn between religious conviction and uncontrollable sexual urges. Franco Garofalo is also good as equally tormented priest, especially in the scene when he hears Sister Virginia’s confession dressed in devil’s costume following the orgy. Mario Cutini is, on the other hand, much less impressive as the film’s ultimate villain. The True Story of the Nun of Monza fails mostly due to poor script by Arcangelo Picchi. While generally following historical record, the film, especially in the middle, fails to explain how Sister Virginia managed to replace the previous Mother Superior (played by Franca Stoppi) and the finale seems rushed. Like with many exploitation films, content of The True Story is an acquired taste and the film would probably have less impacts to the viewers who aren’t Catholics or at least have some familiarity with Catholic doctrine. Although historically accurate, this film nevertheless represents missed opportunity to give at least some sort of credibility to one of the more infamous exploitation genres.
RATING: 4/10 (++)
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