The Magdalene Sisters

"The Magdalene Sisters" is a gripping drama about the inhuman conditions under which many young women had to live in the Catholic Church's Magdalene institutions for many decades, in fact right up until 1996. The Magdalene asylums took in young fallen women who had been cast out by their families and the surrounding community because they had broken the unwritten laws of society.

The year is 1964. Margaret has been raped by a cousin and has thereby brought shame on her family, Rose has given birth to a child out of wedlock, and the orphaned Bernadette flirts a little too eagerly with boys her own age. The girls' sins can be counted on one hand, yet they are met with nothing but condemnation and punishment. Forgiveness and care are unknown concepts. Unless family members demand the girls' release, they can look forward to hard physical labour in the laundry for the rest of their lives. Escape attempts are severely punished, but unsurprisingly some of the girls toy with the idea all the same.

The film is an angry and indignant attack on the Catholic Church in Ireland, and writer-director Peter Mullan is about as unforgiving as the institution he criticises. There is absolutely nothing redeeming in the portrayal of the power-hungry, sadistic Sister Bridget who runs the asylum. Despite this one-sided portrayal of the nuns, "The Magdalene Sisters" is a highly relevant and powerful film.