Body and Soul

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Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Studio: Questar
Release Date: 2007-10-02
Running Time: 300 minutes
Number of Items: 2
Academy Award-nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient, Four Weddings and a Funeral) shines in one of her earliest starring roles in this acclaimed miniseries based on Marcelle Bernstein's powerful novel. After sixteen years of poverty, chastity, and silent obedience in a secluded convent in Wales, Anna Gibson is beginning to doubt her vocation. When her brother dies tragically, Anna is forced to take charge of his young family, including his pregnant wife, Lynn, and her two sons, and the bankrupt textile mill he has left behind in the north of England. Anna finds herself in an alien and hostile modern world. For the first time in her life, she is confronted by her own identity as a woman, and she is forced to choose between two conflicting worlds. As seen on Masterpiece Theatre.

DVD
I didn't care for this movie at all. I was very disappointed in it and would not recommend it myself. It had no rating so I was surprised at some scenes that were unexpected. I am glad I wasn't watching it with anyone else so I could fast forward through certain parts.

Not what I remembered; "the Nun's Story" is much better and compelling
I saw a good chunk of "Body and Soul" some years ago and thanks to Netflix I was able to watch most of what I had missed before. Frankly, I was pretty disappointed. For one thing, life in a contemplative order such as the one that the protagonist was in seems profoundly weird and anachronistic in the 21st Century (things like prohibitions on touching someone, having close friends, or even much contact with one's family). Frankly, I find myself thinking that "God doesn't want, expect, or need people to live that way."

I also felt that Sister Gabriel just wasn't anywhere near as interesting and complex a character as the nun in "the Nun's Story" (which is both a great book and excellent movie).

Nuns Story

The Nun's Story

Finally, "Body and Soul" smacked a bit too much like "chick-lit" when it had Sister Gabriel "give it up" to the hunky factory hand in the end. I suppose a former nun might be inclined to see what she had been missing, but given the fact that she didn't lose her faith just the desire to be in a convent, I think that she wouldn't have entered into a sexual relationship so quickly (particularly, when the movie made a point of showing how disoriented she was by the outside world).

The ending is a disappointment
I read all the current reviews after I saw the mini-series, because I was searching for one that might explain the ending. I have a 2 disc set (marketed may I say in the most difficult packaging I have ever encountered for a DVD. My nails broke and fingers ached after struggling with the release buttons to free the discs, but I digress). I was talking about the series' ending. And that is the point, what is the ending? It leaves us unfulfilled and wondering: and then? What happens next? Clearly, she chooses the world she wants, but what happens to the two men who are so involved in her life? What about her sister-in-law's life? What about the other characters who are integrated into the plot? Not one has a finality except for the character who is the cause of all problems, and a dead nun. (Trying here not to give anything important away.) Did she have regrets later? Did she have the children she so desperately desired? I honestly thought I must have missed an epsiode or that there was a missing disc. As a result, the series feels disappointing and anti-climatic It is cowardly of a director not to have gone farther with the plot. Had I wished to invent my opwn ending, I would have written the screnplay myself!

The cast was excellent, the screenplay interesting, though the storyline about a nun leaving a convent is not unique. Other reviewers have noted the issue of faith and the critical reception she met dressed as a nun in the outside world. For some that will be toubling.

Having watched all the epsiodes I am disappointed that the resolution was so weak.

Not What I Saw on Masterpiece Theater!
There are scenes in this video that must have been edited when it was shown on PBS's Masterpiece Theater. The cover states it is the same version, but these scenes would certainly raise the ire of the FCC.

body and sould
I enjoyed the film very much. It must have been very difficult after 16 years to come out into the world and all the changes that took place during that 16 years. I loved the music and would like to purchase the sound track if it's available