Review of The Magdalene Sisters (2002) by Em M — 17 Jul 2009

Wow. The Catholic Church has never been one of my favorite institutions anyway, and after watching this movie it was even less so. I have no trouble believing that things like this frequently happened - after all, we all know that women who are raped/have babies out of wedlock are sluts and should be locked away. Yeah, right. Unfortunately that is how a lot of religious people have felt on the matter, and this movie gives a small glimpse of the evil ways in which women have been treated in the name of religion.

What I really took away from this movie is not so much about the horrors of organized religion, but the terrible things people can do with a little power and religious mania. Just because you're a nun doesn't make you a good person, and I'm sure it's easy enough to convince yourself that locking innocent girls up against their will and refusing to let them leave is the right thing to do, in the name of your 'god'. If you can justify that in your mind, maybe it's time to rethink the 'goodness' of your religion.

Of course, the Catholic Church insists the girls were all lying. But then they would. If we were to believe the Catholic Church, everyone would be liars apart from them.

This is a tough movie to watch, and it will make you angry, but I can't ask for more in a movie than that it stirs up some real emotion.