Mother

The uncompromising Teona Strugar Mitevska portrays Mother Teresa at the intersection of faith, doubt, and vocation – with a magnetic Noomi Rapace in the lead role.

Calcutta, 1948. Teresa, Mother Superior of the Loreto Sisters’ convent in India, is awaiting a final decision from the Vatican to establish her own order. During her last week at the convent, she receives shocking news from her closest confidante and intended successor (Sylvia Hoeks), throwing both friendship and future plans into turmoil. The film is intimate and a touch rebellious, with a bossy, feminist Rapace as Mother Teresa and a rock-infused soundtrack that lets the nuns cut loose to Finnish band Lordi.

• Pia Lundberg