The Magdalene Sisters is a 2002 film, written and directed by Peter Mullan, about four teenage girls who were sent to Magdalene Asylums (also known as 'Magdalene Laundries'), homes for women who were labelled as "fallen" by their families or society. The homes were maintained by individual religious orders in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland.
Peter Mullan has remarked that the film was initially made because victims of Magdalene Asylums had received no closure in the form of recognition, compensation, or apology, and many remained lifelong devout Catholics. Former Magdalene inmate Mary-Jo McDonagh told Mullan that the reality of the Magdalene Asylums was much worse than depicted in the film. However, since the publication of the Irish government's McAleese Report on the Magdalene Laundries, the depiction of the abuse in this film has been called into question.
Though set in Ireland, it was shot entirely on location in the Dumfries and Galloway area, South-West Scotland.
Read more about The Magdalene Sisters: Plot, Characters, Cast, Critical Reception
Famous quotes containing the words magdalene and/or sisters:
“He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 28:6.
Angel to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.
“Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me. I
Return those duties back as are right fit,
Obey you, love you, and most honor you.
Why have my sisters husbands if they say
They love you all? Haply, when I shall wed,
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty.
Sure I shall never marry like my sisters,
To love my father all.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)