The Monk (2011 film)

The Monk
Promotional poster
Directed by	Dominik Moll
Screenplay by	Dominik Moll Anne-Louise Trividic
Based on	The Monk by Matthew Lewis
Produced by	Michel Saint-Jean
Starring	Vincent Cassel Déborah François Joséphine Japy Catherine Mouchet
Cinematography	Patrick Blossier
Edited by	François Gédigier Sylvie Lager
Music by	Alberto Iglesias
Distributed by	Diaphana Films (France)
Release date	13 July 2011 (2011-07-13)
Running time	101 minutes
Countries	France Spain
Language	French
Budget	€9.8 million[1]
Box office	US$807,535[1]

The Monk (French: Le Moine) is a 2011 thriller drama film directed by Dominik Moll. It is an adaptation of Matthew Lewis's 1796 gothic novel of the same name, and chronicles the story and downfall of a Capucin Ambrosio (Vincent Cassel), a well-respected monk in Spain. An international co-production between France and Spain, it was partially shot in the barri vell of the city of Girona in Catalonia.

Plot[]

An abandoned baby is taken in by a Spanish monastery, and raised as a monk, christened Capuchin Ambrosio. An exceptional preacher, Ambrosio is respected by all. One day a masked figure by the name of Valerio from Burgos arrives at the monastery with his godfather, explaining the mask as necessary due to terrible burns inflicted on him in a fire that killed his parents. He expresses a desire to join the monastery which is initially shunned by several of the monks, however Ambrosio convinces them to not fear his differences, and to accept him.

Valerio later reveals to Ambrosio that he is actually a woman by the name of Matilda, and Ambrosio orders her to leave. As a last request she asks for a rose from his rose garden, and upon reaching in to pluck one for her, Ambrosio is bitten by a giant centipede. As he becomes delirious from the effects of the venom, he is seduced by Matilda and compromises his faith. Another lady, Antonia, who had recently heard him preach comes to the monastery to ask that Ambrosio see her sick mother. He complies and is told of a story by the sickly mother that she left a son named Mateo that was lost years ago and this troubles her soul. Driven by a carnal lust for Matilda, Ambrosio transgresses and he is soon found desiring the innocent Antonia now. He also sees apparitions of the pregnant nun he condemned to death by turning her over to the prioress.

Matilda recognizes Ambrosio's new interest in the fair Antonia and uses magic spells to help the monk in his pursuit of her. She resists and her rape by him and discovery of her murdered mother (at the hand of Ambrosio) leads to her insanity. As her mother dies, she utters the word "Mateo", indicating that Ambrosio now knows that he is the older brother of Antonia. Returning to the monastery, Ambrosio is delivered to the Inquisition where he is condemned to death by starvation. He escapes only when Matilda, revealing herself as an instrument of Satan in female form, leads him to her master. The Devil offers Ambrosio an eternity of pleasure by selling his soul, but Ambrosio demands instead the deal to be used to save Antonia from madness. He then dies, without hope for himself, and is corpse is devoured by crows.

Cast[]

• Vincent Cassel as Capucino Ambrosio
• Déborah François as Matilda^[2]
• Joséphine Japy as Antonia
• Catherine Mouchet as Elvire
• Geraldine Chaplin as l'abbesse
• Sergi López as Le débauché
• Jordi Dauder as Père Miguel
• Roxane Duran as Sœur Agnès
• Frédéric Noaille as Lorenzo
• Javivi as Frère Andrés

Reception[]

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Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 63% approval rating, based on 35 reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10. Its consensus reads, "Visually sharp but only occasionally gripping, The Monk is still watchable thanks in part to Vincent Cassel's charismatic performance."^[3] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 56, based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[4]

Screen Daily praised the leading man, "Cassel exudes otherworldly gravitas and his singular looks are perfect for the role." The review continued to note that "Moll uses quaint touches like iris in/iris out and, via painterly photography, makes the most of the contrast between the cool inner sanctum and the sun-baked landscape." Although the reviewer felt that "three quarters of the film are delectably creepy", the finale only "peters out".^[5]

References[]

External links[]

• Le moine at IMDb
• Radio interview with Vincent Cassel