Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #68. Marco Bellocchio’s La Monaca

La Monaca (La Prigione di Bobbio)

Director: Marco Bellocchio
Writer: Marco Bellocchio
Producer: Simone Gattoni
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Ambra Angiolini, Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Lidiya Liberman, Alberto Bellocchio

Bellocchio-ian themes of the church, the state and politics appear will likely all be sewn into a project that the Italian helmer has been trying to get off the ground for some time now and the reasoning for this is that after a glossed biopic-truth story of Bella addormentata, Marco Bellocchio is, according to Variety, working in “the free-flowing spirit” of Sorelle Mai (a rare experimental film in his filmography) and uses a mix of both professional and non-pro actors. In terms of incarcerated or held against their will female figures, look for La Monaca to be definitely be less-polished than Vincere.

Gist: Based on the true tale of a 17th century noblewoman forced to become a nun, but whose free-spirited love affairs inside the convent lead to incarceration.

Release Date: Production begins this summer and it would take a “miracle” for this to be ready for the fall film fest season — but seeing that this has been long in the works and is low-budget, perhaps a Venice Film Festival entry is possible.

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