REVIEW: The subversive sisterhood in ‘Rebel Hearts’ fights patriarchy

“Clearly we were in a boat that needed desperately to be rocked.”

When you think of the 1960s revolution, a group of Roman Catholic nuns may not be who you envision, but Pedro Kos’ documentary “Rebel Hearts” asserts the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary’s place in the history of rebellion. 

Using the footage gathered over the course of two decades by producer Shawnee Isaac-Smith, the documentary tells the story of a group of nuns who fought against the patriarchal Catholic Church to modernize the sisterhood and reclaim a sense of personal freedom. Combining classic talking head interviews, archival footage, newspaper headlines and animations, creates a gripping documentary about a side of Catholicism rarely seen.

In the 1960s the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart became the home of strong, independent women who saw it as the only alternative path to becoming a housewife. Being married to Jesus, they were forced to become teachers with no training and adhere to a strict schedule of when to pray, eat and sleep. But Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles was an intellectual hub where women from all disciplines could study and create.

The idea of the stone cold, ruler-wielding nun originated when women who joined the convent fresh out of high school were forced to teach classes of 70 students because the cCardinals determined that was what women were only good for. This film proceeds to dismantle this idea, showing a different side of nuns that most people would never know. 

The women soon rejected the rigid religious role imposed on them by the church and instead carried out God’s word as they saw fit. There was an increasing dedication to social justice in the convent. Members attended the Selma march alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and protested with farmers demanding better working conditions. Despite being arrested multiple times, the Sisters were willing to put their bodies on the line to fight for equality, which they saw as their Christian duty.

The film used Sister Corita Kent as an example of how the nuns used their platform at Immaculate Heart to find their power. Sister Kent used her natural artistic talent to create work that combined theological references with social issues to appeal to the youth. Her global success is juxtaposed with the local cardinal’s reprimendment of her work, with him placing restrictions on when and what she could create.

Many women sought to reform the habit, the religious attire nuns wear, as well because they felt it created a barrier between them and other people. In one poignant interview, a nun is overtly crestfallen when a reporter says he is much more uncomfortable speaking with her when she is in her religious attire. This is the turning point of the documentary, when the women realize that their want to do good is being obstructed by the church’s archaic rules.

Well-intentioned reforms are quickly met with criticism from local church officials. The men of the church resisted change as the nuns’ autonomy would lessen their own power. The conflict escalated all the way to the Vatican, where initial efforts to modernize the church were later rescinded after an outcry of people uncomfortable with change swayed opinion. Eventually, rather than submit to patriarchal, archaic rules, over three hundred sisters renounced their vows and formed their own community, which is still thriving today.

The documentary’s stylistic editing helped maintain an engaging pace and used animation and graphics to fill in gaps with no footage. Clippings of newspaper headlines from the ’60s and ’70s calling the sisterhood “The Pope’s Unruly Flock” and other demeaning names juxtaposed the nuns’ good intentions versus how the public spun it into a scandal.

Many nuns were liberal, progressive, kind hearted and extremely funny. But it was those types of women who were harassed, scrutinized and eventually forced out of the church for fighting for their right to do good in the world. While the documentary used source material from the 1950s to the modern day, it remained focused on its mission to give a voice to these previously silenced women.

A story of feminine resilience, the documentary gives a new perspective on what religion meant to women in the convent and all of the overlooked sexism they had to overcome.

Length: 1h 39m
Genre: Documentary
Rating: N/A
Release date: January 29, 2021
4/5 stars