IN THE NAME OF THE DEVIL

IN THE NAME OF THE DEVIL (W IMIENIU DIABŁA)

Summary of the film

  

Anna is in her twenties. She’s a beautiful, clever and sensitive girl. After traumatic experiences in her “sick” family she has decided to look for shelter in a monastery. It seems that she has calmed down. But the bad memories suddenly come back in the form of nightmares. Mother Superior, who has some strange feelings for Anna claims that it is the devil that possessed Anna, promises to help using her supposedly miraculous contact with the Mother of God.

Frightened, broken down Anna confesses to the priest who helps in the parish in the nearby town. Father Stefan doesn’t believe in the devil, advices the girl to consult a doctor.

A conflict between the priest and Mother Superior breaks down. As a result of it Father Stefan can no longer minister to the monastery. The priest looks for help in the diocesan curia, which tries to intervene with no success. Mother Superior decides to break the ties with the Church which according to her is demoralized in the same way as the whole contemporary world. She undertakes to lead her nuns to the God in another way.

She calls a mysterious monk, who arrives to the monastery to help her. Both of them suggest that they were appointed by God, they promote a theory of the bodily love for Jesus, they preach The Spring of the Church, which is going to be born in their monastery.

Anna is subjected to sophisticated psychological manipulation by the undoubtedly charismatic Father Franciszek. Using his bioenergetics therapies he manages to exert enormous influence on the young nuns, who perceive him as their guru.

Anna who becomes friends with father Franciszek struggles to be loyal towards Mother Superior who once while admitting her to the monastery surrounded her with love and care. She also surrenders to Father Franciszek’s charisma and he prepares special sessions especially for her.

But the situation slowly develops.

At the closed monastery gate appears the retarded son of the sacristan, a stutterer. He is in love with Anna…

Łucja, a young nun and the closest friend of Anna in a dramatic talk tries to convince her that she is in a trap set by maniacs and the monastery turns into a sect…

Suddenly at the monastery gate appears Father Stefan. Once again he tires to explain the danger. With his noble and wise words he tells her about the real love for Jesus. Anna struggles; she doesn’t know what to do. But when she accidentally witnesses strange practices of father Franciszek and Mother Superior, who try to change into Mary and Jesus, she is nearly certain that she had been deceived.

For her “spying” she is punished with violent whipping. Father Franciszek decides to subject her to one more “trial” – partly religious, partly erotic scene when he gives her Jesus by giving her himself.  Anna escapes from the monastery.

After this terrible night she wakes up at Father Stefan’s parish. She is silence for a long time, but when she eventually starts to speak, she would say, that there is no God, neither here not there.

Soon afterwards she witnesses closing down of the monastery. Mad women together with Father Franciszek depart to the unknown.

Through the back door Anna enters the deserted monastery. She floats abort the empty interiors. The mess in the cells, food leftovers on the tables, destroyed objects of cult. Anna tries to clear this world up.