Critics reviews

One of the greatest Polish films... Far from a traditional horror film, Mother Joan of the Angels builds an atmosphere of oppression with stark contrasting blacks and whites and rigorous formal compositions that emphasises the twisted bodies and malformed expressions of the apparently possessed nuns in contrast with the stiff convent walls.

The self reigns as the only thing keeping us grounded to what is truly real in this evil-demon-world sense, so what happens when that one safety is taken away? Possession, or its modern correction "madness", threatens to relieve us of our bodies and possibly our selves through another host. It's therefore the most personal horror, and Mother Joan of the Angels tackles the intellectual weight of the subject with beauty and ease.

Whereas The Devils concerned itself with exposing the political machinations - a tale, ultimately, of petty revenge not demons or sorcery - Mother Joan Of The Angels strips away the politics, reducing the power play to something more personal.

With practically no commentary or explication, Mother Joan is a brilliant visual exposition of the idea of possession as the only available mise en scène for emotions that inexorably inhabit and overpower a ceremonial sincerely meant to transcend them.

...It is when [Mother Joan] turns her back to the camera and a slow travelling shot accompanies her exit of the room that we perceive that something is terribly wrong and the transformation now complete. She laughs enticingly, begins to crawl on the walls, spits on father Jozef and leaves (on the blank walls) the mark of her hand. This sequence's atmosphere of dread, surprise and fantasy is entirely achieved through performance and direction.

Mother Joan is not an exposé but an exploration of human character... The mark of an important artist is the chances he takes, and Kawalerowicz takes many.