Product Description

Academy Award-nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient, Four Weddings and a Funeral) shines in one of her earliest starring roles in this acclaimed miniseries based on Marcelle Bernstein's powerful novel. After sixteen years of poverty, chastity, and silent obedience in a secluded convent in Wales, Anna Gibson is beginning to doubt her vocation. When her brother dies tragically, Anna is forced to take charge of his young family, including his pregnant wife, Lynn, and her two sons, and the bankrupt textile mill he has left behind in the north of England. Anna finds herself in an alien and hostile modern world. For the first time in her life, she is confronted by her own identity as a woman, and she is forced to choose between two conflicting worlds. As seen on Masterpiece Theatre.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31625 in DVD
• Brand: QUESTAR INC
• Released on: 2007-10-02
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 300 minutes

Features

• As seen on Masterpiece Theatre.Starring Academy Award Nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Gosford Park, The Horse Whisperer).Anna Gibson (Kristin Scott Thomas), age thirty-four, has been shut away in a convent in the Welsh hills for sixteen years. When her brother dies tragically, she is forced to leave her seclusion to help her pregnant sister-in-law an

The New York Times
"Played with an alluring combination of innocence and sensuality by Kristin Scott Thomas..."

Customer Reviews

Another Nun's Tale
It is almost a rite of passage for beautiful actresses to portray a nun-Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, and Julie Andrews have all starred as women with religious vocations (and never has a whimple been more flattering). Heart and Soul features beautiful Kristin Scott Thomas as the innocent yet sensual Sister Gabriel/Anna Gibson, a woman torn between the two worlds of a Welsh convent and a gritty English mill in a story based on Marcelle Bernstein's novel.

Sister Gabriel/Anna is already doubting her vocation when a family tragedy takes her back out into the world that she renounced 16 years ago. Believable character arcs, realistic sets and an excellent supporting cast make this a very satisfying five hour drama. A must see for Thomas fans. Very gripping-I had to make myself quit watching and go to bed!! Yeah BBC.

Wondrously memorable, KST's nuanced performance is a delight
In this extraordinary story of a woman's crossover from one world to another, Kristin Scott Thomas's performance is astonishing. The chemistry between Sister Gabriel (KST) and her sister-in-law (Amanda Redman) is very satisfying to behold. A stunning cast throughout... There are so many delightful moments in this mini-series that it is a must-see (and own) for KST fans. Soulful throughout...

BREAKING OUT OF CELL WALLS
For sixteen years Sr. Gabriel lived a cloistered life in a convent. Her family consisted of an order of elderly nuns. A pesky young novice becomes infatuated with her but Sr. Gabriel knows that God will take care of such an annoyance. Life in the order is safe, comforting and routine.

God does have a way of breaking one out of his/her comfort zone. In this case Sr. Gabriel is forced to confront the outside world as she is summoned to help her pregnant sister-in-law. Her dutiful brother committed suicide and now left his sister with quite a mess to handle. Sr. Gabriel enters into the world of grief, squawking children, hideous dress and hairstyles, a hysterical sister-in-law and the family mill which is about to go under.

Kristen Scott Thomas gives a superb performance of a nun coming to grips with her faith and the various emotional and spiritual turbulance that she finds in both worlds. Sr. Gabriel finds out that one's cell can be stifling. Her other self, Anna, discovers a world that is cruel, painful, and frightening but at the same time filled with joys that she never experienced before. Body and Soul deals with a woman's need to make peace within herself and become a whole woman in the midst of the chaos surrounding her.

The great mystery is can this woman do it? Is she replacing one cell wall for another? This is an entertaining film that gives you great insight upon the temptations that plague all of us.