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Medieval Studies Program Office: 541-346-4069
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Anchoress (4 stars) 108 Minutes.Anchoress is a film that focuses on one of the more bizarre religious traditions of the Middle Ages, the anchorhold. In this practice, certain members of the faithful would request to have burial rites performed, then have themselves sealed alive in the wall of a church or shrine for the rest of their lives. While this subject might seem like poor material for a 108-minute film, Chris Newby creates a subtle, thoughtful, and artistic treatment in Anchoress. In the film, Christine (played by Natalie Morse with beatific grace) is an adolescent peasant. She claims to have visions of the Virgin Mary. In response to these visions, and in response to the unwanted sexual attentions of the local Reeve, Christine begs the local priest (Christopher Eccleston) to stay with the Virgin in the church. It is not at all clear that the child understands the implications of being an anchoress, though she passes both the priest's and the bishop's tests easily, and enters the enclosure against her mother's wishes. "What are you going to find in a wall?" her frustrated mother asks Christine. The audience wonders the same thing at first. It turns out that Christine finds freedom for the first time in her young life while trapped in a wall. She escapes the Reeve's attentions; she gains the freedom to think and daydream rather than mindlessly till the fields. Likewise, she finds herself in the safe, enclosing protection of a stone womb that separates her from the unpleasantness of the outside world. She has the power to close and shut the windows, admitting or restricting visual access to her body. Here, her visions grow in magnitude and splendor. The entire film is shot in black and white, and the photography does a phenomenal job of translating the visionary experience. Within the eye of Christine, we too sense the mystical in the physical. We sense, rather than see, the outline of the mystical experience in montages of everyday objects juxtaposed, in patterns of braided hair and bundles of wheat, in the tactile world of Christine's fingers caressing the earthen floor, and in the scent of freshly broken bread. Like Julian of Norwich, Christine seems to find the world contained in a hazelnut. Rather than being cut off from the world in her anchorhold, the anchoress is more in touch with her surroundings than ever before. Additionally, the adolescent girl finds herself in a position of authority within the community--an alternative source of spiritual advice to the somewhat jealous and frustrated priest. Villagers come to her to ask her questions and gain spiritual advice. Whom should I marry? Why does God prevent my wife and I from having children? Christine revels in her elevated status, but the attention leads to a power struggle between the priest and Christine, and also between the priest and Christine's mother, both of whom hope to maintain control over the now famous Anchoress of Shire. It is a power struggle that ultimately takes a deadly turn. Ultimately, Christine does become aware of the restrictions to her enclosed existence. After missing out on the communal activities at a town fair, a leper converses with Christine, commanding the adolescent, "Embrace your body, Anchoress of Shire." The injunction leads to an awakening of Christine's own sexuality. When she attempts to capture this new feminine "revelation" in stitch work, the church is not amused. The doctrinal authority of the church increasingly circumvents the imaginative freedom available to her in visionary form. When she sees that the priest is turning the villagers against her mother, Christine must plan an escape--but the entire village and the weight of the church stand against her. At its worst, the film is merely artsy. But at its best, it is subtle, powerful, and stark. I highly recommend it. --Kip Wheeler
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