El fantasma del convento

El fantasma del convento The Phantom of the Monastery is a 1934 Mexican film. It was directed by Fernando de Fuentes. Fernando de Fuentes, the first master of the Mexican cinema, shot this oppressive movie on location in the Teotzotlan monastery. The macabre and lyrical story can be read in two ways.

While the story can be understood as accusing women of being vessels of the devil, the visual aspects of the fantasy contrast the desiccated bodies of the monks and the monasterys acetic blankness to the vibrant sensuality of the darkhaired Roel whose sexuality neither marriage, religion nor superstition can repress. Desire and repression are shown as two sides of the same coin. Repression is signified through the storys literary content and the Father Superiors tale which is spoken rather than shown, while desire disturbs and positively animates the movies imagery.The entire picture, with its ghostly, selfflagellating monks, empty coffins and shadowy bats, bathes in an uncanny atmosphere, with the cell scene as the undoubted high point of the film. ........

Source: Wikipedia