A film about a film by a director who is playing a director in the film. But it's really about a young French actress who plays a Portuguese nun and has a profound encounter with a real Portuguese nun during the shooting.
In A religiosa Portuguesa, director Eugène Green plays a director who is making a film version in Lisbon of the 17th-century book Letters from the Portuguese Nun. The nun in this film-in-a-film is played by the young French actress Julie, who has learned to speak fluent Portuguese through her mother, but has never been to Lisbon before. In Lisbon she meets unusual people who in turn will have their effect on the shooting of the film. The greatest impact results from a conversation with a real nun, who turns out to be little different from Julie herself.
A religiosa Portuguesa is the fourth film by Green, an American by birth, who has had the French nationality since 1976. He's also a writer of essays, fiction and poetry. Green's style is characterised by lengthy shots and alienating dialogues.