''Anchoress'' is a 1993 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Chris Newby. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

1993 Cannes Film Festival The 46th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1993. The Palme d'Or went to '' Farewell My Concubine'' by Chen Kaige and '' The Piano'' by Jane Campion. The festival opened with ''My Favorite Season'', directed by André Téchiné and c ...

. The screenplay is partly based on accounts of an historical female anchorite, Christine Carpenter, who was walled into her anchorhold in a village church in

Shere Shere is a village in the Guildford district of Surrey, England east south-east of Guildford and west of Dorking, centrally bypassed by the A25. It is a small still partly agricultural village chiefly set in the wooded ' Vale of Holmesdale' ...

, Surrey, in southern England, in 1329. The story revolves around the girl's mystical visions of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, the local reeve who wants to marry her, and the priest who walls her into his village church and his dislike of her mother, a midwife whom he regards as a witch. The film is shot in black-and-white and visually resembles the works of Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer, especially ''

The Passion of Joan of Arc ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'' (french: link=no, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) is a 1928 French silent historical film based on the actual record of the trial of Joan of Arc. The film was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and stars Renée Jeanne ...

'' (1928).

Cast

* Natalie Morse as Christine Carpenter *

Gene Bervoets Eugène Joanna Alfons "Gene" Bervoets (born 26 March 1956 in Antwerp) is a Belgian actor. He has performed in more than 60 films since 1979. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bervoets, Gene 1956 births L ...

as Reeve (as Eugene Bervoets) *

Toyah Willcox Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English musician, actress, and TV presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Willcox has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays an ...

as Pauline Carpenter *

Pete Postlethwaite Peter William Postlethwaite, (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor. After minor television appearances, including in '' The Professionals'', his first major success arose through the British autobiographical fil ...

as William Carpenter * Christopher Eccleston as Priest * Michael Pas as Drover * Brenda Bertin as Meg Carpenter *

Annette Badland Annette Badland (born 26 August 1950) is an English actress known for a wide range of roles on television, radio, stage, and film. She is best known for her roles as Margaret Blaine in the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Mrs. Glen ...

as Mary * Veronica Quilligan as Daisy * Julie T. Wallace as Bertha *

Ann Way Ann Way (14 November 1915 – 13 March 1993) was an English film and television character actress. Born in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, she began her career in repertory in Birmingham in the 1950s moving from there to the Dundee Rep. Her petite build ...

as Alice * François Beukelaers as Bishop *

Jan Decleir Jan Decleir (born as ''Jan Amanda Gustaaf Decleir'' on 14 February 1946) is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp. Career He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers's ''Mira'' (1971). Since then, he has appeared in ...

as Mason * David Boyce as Ragged Martin * Mieke De Groote as Ragged Martin's wife * Erik Konstantyn as Carter * Hugo Harold Harrison as Priest's boy

Year-end lists

* Honorable mention – Howie Movshovitz, ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

References

External links

* 1993 films 1993 drama films Films directed by Chris Newby British black-and-white films Films set in the 14th century Films set in Surrey Drama films based on actual events British drama films Folk horror films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films {{1990s-UK-film-stub

Cast

Year-end lists

See also

References

External links