Back in late 1963, a Belgian nun known only as Soeur Sourire, or Sister Smile, topped America's pop music charts with the relentlessly cheerful tune "Dominique," from an album of 12 songs that sold 1.5 million copies. From the little that is known of the ill-fated nun's life, Italy-based American writer-director Roger Deutsch has made the boldly speculative yet persuasive Italian-language film "Suor Sorriso" in which the nun (Ginevra Colonna) emerges as a tormented, unstable woman who abruptly left the convent after her recording triumph before taking her final vows. Running a shelter for wayward girls, she and another ex-nun (Simona Caparrini) enter a passionate, tumultuous and destructive affair. Colonna's volcanic Deckers craves spiritual redemption as well as the other woman's love but is so beset by demons that she embarks on a flamboyant, drug-fueled downward spiral that ultimately engulfs her lover as well as herself.
Where to watch
Not streaming anywhere
Not on any streaming service in United States, and not available to rent.
Your rating
Your review
Cast
5 people
Roger Deutsch Director · Francesca Terrenato Screenplay Giulio Pietromarchi Cinematographer
First release February 12, 2001 · Produced in Italy · Original title Suor Sorriso
Production
Italy
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Suor Sorriso
Original language
Italian
Spoken on screen
Italian
Release dates
Italy · February 12, 2001
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
More from Roger Deutsch
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked Sister Smile
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.