Novitiate

“Whoever would form eternal bonds, should weigh if heart to heart responds” - especially if it's god that you pledge eternal allegiance to. With its emotional urgency, Margaret Bett's atmospheric feature film debut NOVITIATE, about the training of young female novices on their way to becoming nuns, feels like a slightly different relationship drama, where one party completely holds backs on all kinds of expressions of love while at the same time demanding utter devotion. Bett never shies away from the serious aspects of the young novices' world, like self-sacrifice, losing touch with reality, and the inequalities within the catholic power structures. But her quiet meditation weighing up the pros and cons of a religious lifestyle in a fair, respectful and balanced manner is remarkable.