Cloistered Nun: Runa's Confession

1976 [JAPANESE]

Drama / Horror / Romance

6
IMDb Rating 5.0/10 10 287 287

nun pink film nunsploitation

Director

Masaru Konuma Photo
Masaru Konuma

Top cast

Aoi Nakajima Photo
Aoi Nakajima as Mayumi Kotani
Yôko Azusa Photo
Yôko Azusa as Reiko Mine
Shinshô Nakamaru Photo
Shinshô Nakamaru as Keigo shinozaki
Tatsuya Hamaguchi Photo
Tatsuya Hamaguchi as Kitahata
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
678.2 MB
1280*546
Japanese 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 13 min
Seeds 3
1.23 GB
1920*820
Japanese 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 13 min
Seeds 6

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by CrimsonRaptor 5 / 10

Silk Ribbons, Guilt, and the Gaze ?

Shûdôjo Runa no kokuhaku is a quietly disturbing blend of psychological drama and softcore exploitation that struggles to find a steady emotional pulse. It attempts to cloak itself in introspection and subtle moral questioning, yet never fully delivers on its premise, settling instead into a rhythm of repetitive imagery and half-formed ideas. There is a haunting atmosphere tucked within the film's quieter moments, especially in its early scenes, where Konuma's restrained camera movement and a cool, almost clinical use of lighting hint at deeper emotional terrain. But the promise of insight is quickly diluted by tonal inconsistency and a script that feels more like a scaffold than a story.Visually, the cinematography flirts with elegance but rarely commits. There are a few arresting compositions, particularly those involving mirrors and enclosed spaces, which seem to reflect the protagonist's internal conflict. However, these moments are too infrequent to elevate the film. Much of the framing feels perfunctory, and lighting choices often lean flat, especially in emotionally charged scenes where shadow and depth could have reinforced the underlying tension. It's as if the film keeps reaching for beauty and then backing away at the last moment.As for performances, Miyuki Kojima carries the lead role with quiet restraint, delivering a performance that feels emotionally guarded yet believable. Her portrayal of Runa is layered with just enough ambiguity to keep the viewer guessing, though the script gives her little room to grow. Unfortunately, the supporting cast is uneven. Some veer into caricature, and others seem emotionally disengaged, which undermines the credibility of the story. There is a notable exception in a brief appearance by a veteran actor whose subdued performance injects a much-needed jolt of realism, but it's not enough to salvage the whole.At its best, the film tries to meditate on guilt, shame, and the blurry boundary between confession and control. But too often, it veers into erotic cliché, undercutting any serious psychological or moral inquiry it might hope to explore. The result is a film that feels like it's watching itself in the mirror, admiring its own mood without fully understanding its subject.
Reviewed by lazarillo

Ring the bell

I've sometimes wondered why a country like Japan, in which maybe 1 percent of the population is Catholic, would have gotten involved in the notorious "nunsploitation" genre when many countries with much larger Catholic populations (like the US) have not. This movie does give you some insight on the appeal of "nunsploitation" for the Japanese. Only two scenes actually show life inside the convent--the opening scene where the heroine "Runa" is being sexually assaulted by the (non-Japanese) priest while she rings (and rings and rings. . .) the convent bell, and a flashback scene where as a novice she is assaulted for the first time by the same priest. Most of the movie, however, is about "Runa" returning to her hometown. She had apparently entered the convent after her slutty sister had stolen her boyfriend. She has apparently forgiven them though and has come to offer them a chance to buy and re-sell some convent land so they can afford to get married. Unbeknownst to her, they are no longer a couple (although the boyfriend does sexually assault the sister on a pool table for old times sake), but the greedy pair are willing to work together to get their hands on the valuable land.Your enjoyment of this movie will no doubt depend on how much you are able to get around the typically cavalier Japanese attitude towards rape. Japanese films treat rape in the titillating and rather non-serious manner that Hollywood films treat murder. The slutty sister, for instance, gets the money to buy the land by promising to marry a half a dozen rich guys (and giving each a print of an intimate part of her anatomy). When they find out about her deception, they lure her to a warehouse to take their revenge.But in this movie even gang rape seems to be only a minor inconvenience for the woman involved, and they actually seem to enjoy individual rape, especially if it involves a bi-sexual three-way and a shotgun. . .All in all, this a typical Japanese "pink" film. It's VERY politically incorrect, but much better made than any kind of American porn product. There's plenty of softcore sex scenes and the plot generally holds together pretty well. The acting is fairly competent, even if the characters are all completely ridiculous and the whole thing is virtually impossible to take seriously. This certainly isn't for everybody, but the people who would want to watch it know who they are.
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