If a documentary about nuns does not make you want to drop everything and run to your nearest cinema, think again. Anca Hirte's Teodora the Sinner/Păcătoasa Teodora (also available in the French version as Téodora pécheresse) is one of the most touching films I saw at the 2011 Astra Film Fest and it's great to see it running in theaters across the country.

The picture focuses on a young novice at the Văratec monastery in northern Romania. Teodora has been living with the nuns since she was eleven and now, seventeen years later, she can finally become a nun as soon as she marries Jesus in a ceremony which is meant to symbolize her life-long dedication to her Lord as well as to her sisters in faith. Interestingly, her relationship to a physically absent partner is not without its erotic connotations but the director is a bit too keen to suggest this as well as Teodora's attractiveness through too many lingering close-ups of her lips. Other than that though, this is an intelligent and non-judgmental look at women who renounce their worldly ties to serve God.

The film offers some surprising insights into what it means to live in such a remote community. As the director herself stated in interviews, these women seem to be trapped in a continuous childhood, and this is meant not in an immature but in a pure way: the nuns are utterly grateful for having each other, their work in a tight-knit community, and their faith, meaning they question nothing and enjoy every day as it comes. They are always smiling, laughing, and playing around like children while doing their daily chores. Watching them is infectious.

The serene mood is sometimes interrupted by darker tones though. Teodora's nervousness over the upcoming ceremony is growing day by day, making the process unexpectedly thrilling. By the time she has married her Lord and become a nun, the tension for the viewer is higher than in any hard-boiled thriller. Even if a choice for life is made without any doubts, its finalization can take its toll. The second tense aspect of the film lies in its commentary on women's roles, especially in rural areas. Many women who live in the convent have escaped their abusive husbands or fathers, making their friendship in the monastery and their relationship to an abstract lover their only experience of gentle love.

All in all, this heartfelt little film is a beautiful occasion to 'meet' a beautiful young woman. It will make you leave the cinema with a loving smile on your face.

The film is currently running at the cinemas Europa and Patria (the Caffe 3D hall) in Bucharest, as well as in selected theatres in Călărași, Târgu Mureș and Craiova.

By Ioana Moldovan, columnist, ioana.moldovan@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Astra Film Festival website)