ALMOST everybody loves and adores Audrey Hepburn. Many young girls want to be
just like her when they grow up.
Some young men wish to marry a woman who personifies Audrey Hepburn.
Now what is this mysterious and nearly mystical allure that is Miss Hepburn.
Some of that regal bearing that others see so clearly in her comes perhaps from
her mother Baroness Ella van Heemstra, a Dutch aristocrat. Her mother's
bloodline can be traced to English and French kings. Her father, an Anglo-Irish
banker, is John Victor Hepburn-Ruston.
Audrey Hepburn's admirers have been known to describe her as "the most beautiful
woman of all time". In the American Film Industry list, she has been named the
third greatest female star of all time.
Audrey adored her father. When he left the family, Audrey was devastated.
She described that as the "most traumatic moment of her life". In later years,
she managed to track down her dad, gave him financial assistance and wrote the
kind of letters that only a loving daughter would write.
During the Second World War, Audrey danced ballet to collect money for the Dutch
underground resistance. Life was very difficult in Arnhem where the Allied
forces had been dropping bombs.
Audrey suffered a great deal and her frailty only added to her problems.
Audrey was trained since childhood in ballet but her trainers thought she was
too tall to be a professional ballerina because she was 5' 7". In her first
major acting performance, she played a ballet dancer.
The movie was "The Secret People".
Around 1952, she acted opposite Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday. Peck who had a
soft spot for her requested that Audrey was given equal billing as him, even
though she was a newcomer.
For that movie, she won the 1953 Academy Best Actress Award.
Audrey's first husband was actor Mel Ferrer. Second husband was Italian
psychiatrist Dr Andrea Dotti. She has two sons: Sean in 1960 (by Ferrer) and
Luca in 1970 (by Dotti).
Audrey Hepburn died of cancer on January 20, 1993, in Switzerland. She was
buried there.
For me, Audrey Hepburn represents everything that is good about women.
She exudes a gentle charm and exhibited a certain kindness in her film roles
that truly reflected her character in real life. Sometimes, in about 100 years,
there comes a film star that touches the hearts and minds of audiences
worldwide. Audrey Hepburn was that kind of person.
AUDREY HEPBURN was an actress that many of today's young actresses look up to
and want to emulate. Her acting accolades are found in unforgettable movies like
Sabrina, Roman Holday with Gregory Peck, Breakfast at Tiffany's with George
Peppard and Wait Until Dark (1967).
Hepburn's femininty was what set her apart from her contemporaries during the
1950s.
However, there was one movie which she starred in that was claimed to be one of
best but was almost never in the limelight.
This movie is The Nun's Story released in 1959.
It involves a young girl by the name of Gabrielle van der Mal who entered the
convent to become Sister Luke.
Director Frank Zinnemann goes behind the seldom entered sanctuary of an
imaginary convent and tells the tense tale of a young woman who struggles to
find her faith in serving God and her desires to serve mankind in the sometimes
cruel world.
There was some talk of adverse public reaction to the way the life of a nun was
treated by Hollywood.
But Zinnemann was careful to portray Sister Luke as a person who was as much as
she was a faithful servant of God, she too was a young woman who was filled with
passions and desires of a person her age and gender.
In the end, it was a story well told by an excellent director.
Honestly, it was fair to the holy order and to the character whom Audrey Hepburn
played most magnificently. Later, Hepburn said The Nun's Story was one of her
two favourite movies.
The other being Funny Face (19570 Fred Astaire.
To appreciate The Nun's Story, it would be good if the viewer is not averse to
watch a movie with a religious theme. Audrey Hepburn captures the essence of a
nun trying desperately to find her true calling in life, even as she adorns the
habit of the sisters.
The prayers, the penance and the conversations with God will find receptive
audience among people of the Christian faith.
Director Zinnemann had done a marvellous job of capturing the essence of the
human spirit in thoes of spiritual quest.
The Nun's Story is in spirit true to its message when it was screened as it is
today. Modern generations will no doubt find it shares a kindred spirit with
Audrey Hepburn in her soul-stirring role as a nun who tries to find answers to
assuage her restless soul.
This movie gets more than two thumbs-up. It receives a silent prayer of praise
and a muted amen.
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