#672. Behind Convent Walls (1978)

Directed By: Walerian Borowczyk

Starring: Ligia Branice, Howard Ross, Marina Pierro





Trivia:  Luciano Tovoli, who also worked behind the camera on Suspiria, was this film's cinematographer









With cinematography by Luciano Tovoli, who worked alongside such noteworthy filmmakers as Dario Argento (Suspiria) and Michelangelo Antonioni (The Passenger), director Walerian Borowczyk’s Behind Convent Walls is a beautiful motion picture, which just so just happens to be about a group of nuns who can't keep their clothes on!

Based on a story in Stendahl’s “Promenades dans Rome”, Behind Convent Walls is among the finest nunsploitation films ever made, with some of the horniest sisters ever to grace the big screen. The Mother Superior (Gabriella Giacobbe) has her hands full with this rowdy bunch, and does what she can to keep their hyperactive libidos in check.

Thank goodness she has her niece, Sister Clara (Ligia Branice), whose piety makes her a role model for the other girls. That is, until the arrival of Rodrigo (Howard Ross), the nephew of the Father Confessor (Mario Maranzana). Having taken up temporary residence at the convent to study in their library, Rodrigo falls head over heels in love with Sister Clara, and she, in turn, harbors some feelings for him as well.

Behind Convent Walls begins innocently enough, with Silva (Alex Partexano), a servant, delivering a side of beef to the convent. The setting is very “old-world”, with creaking wooden doors and long hallways illuminated by natural light. We follow Silva as he carries the carcass into the kitchen, where several of the Sisters are in the process of making bread. Silva even sports dark glasses, placed over his eyes when he first arrived, so that he would not be “tempted” by the Sisters. We then move outdoors to a picturesque garden, where a handful of nuns are tending to the flowers. I was struck by the look of the film in these early scenes, the camera moving freely throughout, revealing colors so brilliant they spill off the screen. At this point in the movie, Behind Convent Walls is nothing more than an exposé of life in a European convent.

Of course, this is all an illusion; a wonderfully realized deception by Borowyczyk and his crew, but a deception nonetheless. Before long, the debauchery will be in full swing!

How kinky does Behind Convent Walls get? Without going into too much detail, here are a few examples of what transpires once the good Sisters let their habits down: One nun, inspired by the beautiful music emanating from the chapel, lies on her back and does leg exercises, her skimpy undergarments failing to completely conceal her most private of areas. But this pales in comparison to some of the other “activities”, including Sister Lucretia’s sexual encounters with a local man she smuggles into the convent; or Sister Martina’s (Loredana Martinez) affair with Silva. There’s also a scene involving a small piece of wood, which breaks through an upstairs window as Silva is chopping branches below, that is gathered up by one of the Sisters and whittled down (with the help of several shards of broken glass) into a dildo. She even tests her new toy, doing so with extreme vigor.

Behind Convent Walls is a rare blend of European arthouse and exploitation sleaze, and proves a shining example of both.