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The Nun's Story is the title of a dramatic film that was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in 1959.
Based upon the 1956 novel of the same title by Kathryn Hulme, the story tells of the life of Sister Luke (played by Audrey Hepburn), a young woman who decides to enter a convent but ultimately finds it hard to adjust to the sacrifices required of her. The book was based upon the life of Marie-Louise Habets, a Belgian nurse who similarly spent time as a nun.
A major portion of the film takes place in the Belgian Congo where Sister Luke assists Dr. Fortunati (Peter Finch) in helping treat the lepers of the area.
The film version follows the book fairly closely, although there is an added level of sexual tension present in the relationship between Dr. Fortunati and Sister Luke that is absent from the novel. Also appearing in the film were Edith Evans, Peggy Ashcroft, Dean Jagger, Mildred Dunnock, Colleen Dewhurst, and Beatrice Straight.
It was nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Actress in a Leading Role (Audrey Hepburn), Best Cinematography, Color, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.
The Nun's Story was a major box office success in its day and was considered, for a time, to be the most financially successful of Hepburn's films and one the actress often cited as her favorite. Hepburn met Marie-Louise Habets while preparing for the role, and Habets later helped nurse Hepburn back to health following her near-fatal horse-riding accident on the set of the 1960 film, The Unforgiven. The Nun's Story received its first official North American DVD release on April 4, 2006. The story behind the book and film was the subject of The Belgian Nurse, a radio play by Zoe Fairbairns broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, 13 January 2007.
Gabrielle Van Der Mal gave up everything to become a nun. But her faith and her vows are forever being tested: first in the missionary Congo hospital where she assists the brilliant and handsome Dr. Fortunati and then at the mother house in France when World War II has broken out and the nuns are forbidden by the order to take sides. Written by A.L.Beneteau
In 1930, young Gabrielle Van der Mal enters a convent in her native Belgium to become a nun. Almost immediately she has difficulty adjusting to the cloistered life, and its vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She doubts her own ability, even as she takes her final vows. Gabrielle, now called Sister Luke, excels in her medical studies and dreams of serving in the Belgian Congo. When she is asked by the Reverend Mother to fail her exams on purpose to show humility, she cannot bring herself to do so. However, despite her excellent score she is not sent to the Congo, but to a sanitarium in Brussels. Written by filmfactsman






