Directed by
Soeur Sourire
124 minutes
Rated M
Reviewed by
Sharon Hurst
Sister Smile
Synopsis: Jeannine Deckers is your typically rebellious teen of the late 1950s. Her staunchly Catholic parents run a bakery in Brussels but Jeannine has no intention of following in the family footsteps. Instead she dreams of going as a missionary to Africa.. When the parental pressure becomes too much, she packs a bag and heads for a Dominican convent. She again runs into conflict but then she brings the church and the convent to fame with her international hit single “Dominique”. But the “Singing Nun”, as she is known, will have more serious more life issues to confront.This is a true story and a fascinating one at that. I really knew nothing of this woman’s life except for her iconic and infuriating hit song, which unfortunately would not leave my head for at least a week after seeing the film. In 1966 Debbie Reynolds starred in a much more sanitised version of the story called The Singing Nun. Stijn Coninx’s more candid version of the nun’s story works on two levels. One is as a biography set in a particular place and time and that traces the sort of issues that confronted a young person at the start of the 60s revolution. The other is as a window on the life if a young noviate, an experience that could put any aspirant off the prospect. As we know, the Catholic Church is not renowned for its humanity and scenes of extreme discipline, such as when Jeannine is made to spend the night outside in a downpour as punishment for eating bread at a non-designated time don’t do anything to allay this image.
The absolute lynch pin of the film is the brilliant Cécile de France. Normally so glamorous, here she manages to capture the essence of the almost androgynous Jeannine, not to mention that the actress is a 34-year-old who is also able to convince us she is a girl in her late teens. De France learned to play the guitar, studying for 6 months, and does her own singing throughout, always a commendable effort for any actor. She is terrific at capturing the ambivalence and deep conflict in Jeannine – both sexual and vocational. She is a woman who on the one hand professes faith and the desire for a nun’s life, which by nature is modest, but who when experiencing fame wants more of it and sees herself perhaps as more talented than she really is. In fact it is the nun’s almost arrogant belief in her fans that leads her to write a song (about the birth control pill) which alienates not only the Church but also many fans
Again this is an interesting window on the Catholic Church’s attitudes at the start of the permissive era. All the women playing the assorted mother superiors and other nuns are eminently credible. Of particular note is a lovely performance by Sandrine Blancke as Annie, the woman who has been in love with Jeannine since they were schoolgirls together.
Overall, Sister Smile is an entertaining and interesting film albeit one that soft-pedals the sad facts of Decker's life which ended in 1985 with her joint suicide with Annie after various failed attempts to revive her career.
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