Belgian film offers complex portrait of Singing Nun

By Natasha Senjanovic

TAORMINA, Italy (Hollywood Reporter) - "Sister Smile," Stijn Coninx's film on the life of the Belgian "Singing Nun," Jeanine Deckers, owes much of its success in Belgium and France to star Cecile de France. A far cry from Debbie Reynolds and her squeaky-clean performance in the 1966 film, de France brings restless passion and a steely energy, as well as her own singing, to the true-life tale of the Dominican nun whose 1963 "Dominique" was an international success but whose life was tumultuous.

More than a biopic, "Sister Smile" -- which screened at the Taormina Film Festival -- is a film about a dynamic woman who needed to express herself at a time when women still had few options to do so. It takes its name from the pseudonym (Soeur Sourire) under which Deckers recorded her music and quickly establishes her contradictory and rebellious nature.

Craving freedom as a teenager in the late 1950s, she left her stifling home with a suitcase and guitar in hand, and paradoxically entered a Dominican convent, very much against her parents' wishes. Despite her sincere belief in God, her disdain for authority became even more evident once she was there, facing the Church's inability to adapt to the social changes taking place became even more evident.

Sensing a need to harness the young nun's energy or else lose her, the Mother Superior eventually gave Deckers back her guitar. It was not long before her peppy song about the order's founder attracted attention, a documentary crew and a recording deal.

When even "The Ed Sullivan Show" came knocking, Deckers' desire to become a star exploded, as did the rift between some of her more emancipated views and the conservative Church. Once again with suitcase and guitar in tow, she left the convent to continue her newfound career as a musical sensation. However, with the convent owning the rights to "Dominique" and her pseudonym, Deckers was thwarted in her attempts and started wallowing in drugs, alcohol and self-pity.

An attempt at a comeback tour in Canada was cut short when she debuted a song about the marvels of the birth control pill. Trapped by her previous stellar success, Deckers found that the public was more interested in the Singing Nun than the singer.

The scriptwriters deftly portray a complex woman who did not know how to balance her faith with conflicting feelings about her goals, sexuality and artistry. Only when Deckers gave up music and returned to live with her friend Annie (Sandrine Blancke), who would become her lifelong lover, did she find peace.

The director/co-writer smoothly stitches the events together to create an even narrative that does not suffer from the biopic trap of explaining too much. Yet for those unfamiliar with Deckers' story -- and there are many -- the ending is ambiguous, if not misleading.