Review of The Monk (2011) by Inconvenient F — 06 May 2012

I would recommend this film. It deals with the sexual repression which has been at the core of the Catholic church since celibacy was invented. The film is based on a novel from 1795, so it uses the the religious terminology of "the devil" and "possession", etc, to refer to sexual desire, but it conveys a strong critique of the psychological deformity which lies behind celibacy and the sterile lives of nuns and monks.

We see the central character of the monk as an essentially good man whose life is being poisoned by sexual frustration. The ending of the film is disappointing - everything is blamed on the devil - but the searching gaze that has been turned on the sexual hang-ups of the Church has accomplished its mission by then anyway.