the recognisable architecture of that monastery. Instead, it focuses upon faces in spaces, intensity within enclosure, as in the late plays of Samuel Beckett. There are no exterior shots at all in the film; instead, the presence of an extra-monastic world is conveyed obliquely, by the background cooing of a wood pigeon, or by the green, pulsating body of a tiny crouching frog, cupped in the hand of an infirmarian, and brought in to give pleasure to the dying Thérèse." "The actress Catherine Mouchet, who plays Thérèse (and who bears a startling physical similarity to her), incarnates the simplicity of Thérèse without ever spilling over into the ethereal or the fey. In one scene, she and another sister stand side by side ... the other sister reveals, while they work, the internal split she experiences within religious life: mon corps est ici,mais mon esprit est ailleurs - (My body is here, but my spirit is elsewhere.) For Thérèse, the opposite is true: She is always intensely present in every scene, never dreaming or oblivious." Cast Catherine Mouchet ......... Thérèse Martin Aurore Prieto ................. Céline Martin Sylvie Habault ................ Pauline Martin Ghislaine Mona .............. Marie Martin Hélène Alexandridis ........ Lucie Clémence Massart ......... Prioress Nathalie Bernart ............. Aimée Jean Pelegri .................. Monsieur Martin Armand Meppiel ............. Pope Leo XIII Pierre Maintigneux ......... Convent Doctor Joël Lefrançois .............. Young Doctor Beatrice de Vigan .......... Singer Michel Rivelin ................ Pranzini Awards and recognition It won the 1987 César Awards for Best Film, Best Writing, and Best Editing (Isabelle Dedieu). The film also won the Jury Prize at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival. Catherine Mouchet won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for 1987 for her performance. It was also selected by the Vatican in the "religion" category of its list of 45 "great films." References External links 1986 films French drama films Films about Catholicism Best Film César Award winners Films whose director won the Best Director César Award Films directed by Alain Cavalier 1980s French-language films 1980s French films