Rivette’s second feature adapts Diderot’s homonymous novel about a young woman who is obliged to go to a convent. Before it was even directed, the film unleashed a cabal of conservative politicians, who banned it, resulting in a huge scandal. It was authorized only after the title changed to Simone Simonin, la religieuse de Denis Diderot, although no one ever referred to it as such. Very different from the style that Rivette would adopt from L’amour fou (1969), rigorous and rarefied, extremely “written”, La religieuse has an exceptional performance of Anna Karina in the leading role. (Cinemateca Portuguesa)
