When a young nun is called back home after her sister’s mysterious death, we are pulled into the beauty of the Swiss Alps and the darkness of innocent passion and religious symbolism that will leave you wanting more.
Thunder: Original Title: Foudre
Director Carmen Jaquier’s first feature film that presented at the Toronto International Film Festival and in the San Sebastian International Film Festival was inspired by true events. Jaquier’s inspiration came from a new item about two teenagers from a suburb in Berlin setting themselves on fire. This tragedy forced the director to ask questions about the limits placed on passion and the brutal restrictions on women’s bodies by religious leaders. The film stars Lilith Grasmug, Mermoz Melchior, Benjamin Python, Noah Watzlawick, Sabine Timoteo, Lou Iff, Diana Gervalla.
Thunder, which offers beautiful scenery of the Swiss Alps and countryside, begins when seventeen-year-old Elisabeth (Lilith Grasmug), who is a nun and has been living at the convent since she was twelve years old, receives a message that her older sister Innocente has died. Elisabeth is shocked by the news but is reluctant to leave the serenity of the convent. Her family’s need for her help on the farm supersedes the girl’s wishes. Innocente’s death is a mystery, and her name is forbidden to be mentioned in the family home. Elisabeth is even unable to locate her sister’s grave for it is not buried on hallowed ground. The local priest tells Elisabeth that Innocente belongs to Satan. The only hint we are given about Innocente while she was alive is a scene where Innocente’s feet are tied to the breakfast table. What crime did this child commit?
Elisabeth, who works long, grueling hours on the farm with her parents and little sisters, Paule (Lou Iff) and Adele (Diana Gervalla,) begins to not only question the fate of her sister but does her own investigation after finding her sister’s diary.
Against her mother’s (Sabine Timoteo) wishes, Elisabeth befriends the three male childhood friends of Innocente: Joseph (Mermoz Melchior), Emile (Benjamin Python), and Pierrot (Noah Watzlawick).
Conclusion
In her devotion to God, Elisabeth begins to question the harsh restrictions placed on women as she walks in Innocente’s footsteps via the diary and the encounters, both innocent and sexual, with the three boys.
Lilith Grasmug is amazing actress and she pulls you right smack dab into this heartbreaking story of a young nun who was dragged from the safe confines of a convent into an unjust world where passion is punished…especially…if the woman is the one initiating it.
Now, I will get into why this film had such an effect on me. Being born at the end of 1946 to Italian Catholic Immigrants, the very idea of exploring one’s sexual identity was a big “NO” Attending Catholic School for twelve years had, at first, me fearing the prospects of eternal hell for just for thinking about sex, or even French kissing a boy.
It was in the ’60s and early ’70s that I began to fight against the system, first with the Civil Rights marches, followed by women’s liberation. Carmen Jaquier’s writing and directing of this film brought back sweet memories from my childhood. That first kiss, touch, and explorations that were done in the back of a 1959 Chevy bel air at the Drive-In theater in South Philly was a lesson and introduction to my power as a woman.
And guess what…I wasn’t struck down with a lightning bolt by God. I understood that God created us to be sexual and passionate in order to counterbalance the harshness of life on this planet. Unfortunately, there are people in Congress that want to turn back the clock and make woman nothing more than breeding stock. They will burn us at the stake for daring to have a passionate nature that was, after all, created by God. We must never allow this.
This is a beautiful film and is Switzerland’s official submission to the 2023 Oscars. The film opened at NYC’s IFC Center on October 25th with a national rollout to follow. If you get the chance, you must see the film.
