Inquiring Nuns
Inquiring Nuns • 1h 5m
In the politically fraught climate of Chicago in 1968, two young nuns crisscross the city in order to ask strangers the question, "Are you happy?" The answers vary: "Happiness is the absence of fear," "Avoiding people," "Raspberries," "Joy in knowing Christ." They meet a lonely girl, a happy mother, young lovers, hippie musicians, a sociologist and even character actor Stepin Fetchit. The humor and sadness of these honest encounters lift the film beyond its conceit into a serious and moving inquiry into contemporary society and the circumstances under which people examine their lives.
While Gordon Quinn and Jerry Temaner's second film after Home For Life (1966) was a distinctly American response to the pioneering French documentary Chronicle of a Summer (1960), directed by Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin, it had the added benefit of laying the groundwork for decades of Kartemquin films to come.
Up Next in Inquiring Nuns
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The story of Kartemquin's first camera
Kartemquin co-founder and artistic director Gordon Quinn describes the history, technology and practice behind "Camera #1" - the very first Kartemquin camera. Used to film documentaries from our early years such as Home for Life, Inquiring Nuns, and Marco, the camera is unique due to its custom-m...
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Inquiring Nuns Trailer (2011)
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Inquiring Nuns Trailer (2018)
2018 trailer for the restored 50th Anniversary release of Inquiring Nuns (1968)
