An offbeat mixture of art-house weirdness and sleazy exploitation, I found this to be a highly unappealing movie. I for one am not a fan of art-house cinema in general - maybe I just don't 'get' it, but I find much of it boring, and the same is true for this movie. Personally I was expecting some sleazy horror film in the vein of KILLER NUN or THE OTHER HELL, but instead I got a lame art movie with nothing going on.Sure, the direction of Walerian Borowczyk (what a name to go to bed with!) is unconventional and stylish, but this movie just doesn't go anywhere. Instead we have endless scenes of seduction, intrigue and the like and a few spotty deaths, and we're supposed to care? The strict uniform that the nuns wear mean that it's difficult to distinguish between them, not that you would care to either. The sexual side of the film means that there's a lot of nudity (for instance, one nun likes to do nude aerobics!) and sex scenes, which were unappealing to a fan looks for thrills of a different sort like myself. Only the organ music playing on the soundtrack is really distinctive. Otherwise, give this art-house bore a miss.

Walerian Borowczyk's contribution to the nunsploitation genre, shot, mostly hand-held, by the extraordinary cinematographer Luciano Tavoli who expertly uses authentic locations(and, not to mention, his impeccable use of light) exceptionally well.Debauchery and carnal desires, yearnings of the flesh, a lust which defiles the very soul, in director Walerian Borowczyk's BEHIND CONVENT WALLS young nuns, blossoming into women with burgeoning hormones and sexual appetites appeased by the order, educated by their superiors in the church to remain loyal to their "spouse", Jesus Christ.Promiscuous, chatty, talking over each other, loud and playful, these are girls buried away into a repressive, reclusive environment, where the older nuns go through their things, nosy busybodies trying in every way possible to eliminate any outside world influence which might "coerce them to sin." Blasphemous, Sacrilegious satire includes one young nun whose obsessive love for Jesus borders on the absurdly sexual as she masturbates herself with a wooden dildo with Christ's drawn face at the end(she uses a mirror so she can see his face!)...not to mention that she prays to him in the nude! This nun, Sister Clara, with her unhealthy devotion to Christ, allows herself to be erotically drawn to Father Confessor's artist nephew, Rodrigo(known for his pious portraits which don't sell as well as other works). Sister Martina loves a fellow named Silva and is coerced by Sister Lucretia in spiking the Mother Superior's tea with an opiate! Clara considers Mother Superior(and her damned black cane)of being the anti-Christ because she interrupted a "session with her Savior". The confessions can be so lurid, as in the case of Clara, that Father Confessor has to wipe his brow constantly of sweat! In regards to the dreaded black cane, it's actually a sword in a case for which the Mother Superior uses to stab beds looking for provocative materials. Sister Veronica cuts her hands while intensely grasping roses creating bloody wounds having her believe she has stigmata! One nun collects flower petals she keeps in her front drawer. One nun is pregnant, her punishment being that she's not allowed to say Hail Marys out loud or keep her window open. One nun gorges herself on grapes. Another loves her violin, fighting Mother Superior with all her might when she attempts to take the musical instrument away as punishment for playing non-religious music(the violin is later used as a "pleasure device"). All this in one convent shows that no matter how hard you try to keep sin from young women hidden away from the world, the craving for pleasure and ecstasy finds it's way to the flesh. Clara, who had dedicated so much to Christ, gives herself over to Rodrigo who introduces her to the joys of oral bliss.I imagine director Walerian Borowczyk was enjoying himself, showing this convent evolving into essentially a den of hedonism and depravity. It gets serious(well, probably meant as humorous considering Borowczyk's stance towards the Catholic Church) when, because the door to the convent was opened, the Mother Superior winds up dead from the opiate put in her tea to keep her asleep so the nuns could conduct themselves in whatever way they so pleased. By the end, three nuns are dead, one is responsible for the poison which killed them(and for opening the convent door which produced the final result), and a cardinal is covered in the blood of a raving Sister Veronica blaming him for the crucifixion of Christ..this nunsploit is quite a wild ride. I noticed in a documentary of this movie that the masturbation-wooden dildo scene is cut from most prints..purists may want to seek this Cult Epics release out for the official version.

What supposedly goes on 'behind convent walls' is the subject matter of pretty much every nunsploitation film ever made, and this film is director Walerian Borowczyk's take on the theme. Given that he previously directed The Beast; I have to say that I was expecting something a little stranger from the director, and while the film does have some quirks not seen in other nunsploitation efforts; it has to be said that it's pretty much a textbook entry and that is really the most disappointing thing about it. As ever, its sex, Satanism and general sinning that is the order of the day; although the film does not really follow a set narrative. The film is apparently based on a novel by someone called 'Stendhal' and focuses on a convent, where most of the nuns are beautiful and like to do everything except what nuns are supposed to do (despite having seen so many films about nuns, I actually don't know what that is!). Basically, what we get is the leaders of the convent trying to instill proper values in the nuns, while the nuns ignore them.This genre is best known for its hardcore entries by directors such as Joe D'Amato, but this one is actually surprisingly soft. The director delights in showing the nuns half dressed; we get plenty of shots of naked women wearing the nun's headgear and while it could be considered blasphemous, it's not particularly offensive. The most noteworthy scene of the movie goes against the flow a little bit and sees a nun pleasuring herself with a carving featuring the face of Jesus! Outside of that, however, the film doesn't feature the hardcore atrocities that Joe D'Amato delights in filming. The plot is really unimportant and it soon becomes apparent that the film is only going to be an excuse to show what (or rather, what probably doesn't) go on behind convent walls. The women are all rather beautiful and the cinematography is too which ensures that the film is at least nice to look at. Overall, I don't think this film will do a lot for those wanting hardcore pornography from their nunsploitation; but it's a decent film and provides enough for the average nunsploitation fan.

Despite some very ropey, almost Franco-like camera-work and generally lacklustre performances, Walerian Borowczyk's "Behind Convent Walls" (aka "Within a Cloister") is an artsploitation film with real erotic value.The plot is nonsense, but the convent setting is convincing and the scenes of nuns behaving badly are directed with great erotic detail.With the exception of the Mother Superior, these sisters have more interest in phallic objects, masturbation, lesbianism and the local lads than the Holy Trinity. It's a good thing because this is a Borowczyk film and Borowczyk, the director of "Immoral Tales" and "The Beast", is at his best when focusing his camera on illicit sexuality.The film has an art-house patina, measured pacing and a heavy-handed organ score, but it remains an interesting curio for its single-minded subversiveness and cast of carnally-minded Christians.Euro art trash at its finest.