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      Brides of Christ

      ABC/Roadshow Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 330 mins . M15+ . PAL

        Feature
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      Growing up Catholic, a lot of this storyline was familiar, but a lot of it was way different from anything I remembered. Of course, I didn’t go to a boarding school for girls run by nuns.

      Maybe that contributed, I dunno. At any rate, Brides of Christ is compelling watching, regardless of whether you’re Catholic or not. Told with a sweetness and a melancholy and an ever-so-gentle sense of humour, this is the story of one nun and her journey from a child visited with visions to a fully fledged sister of the order. Along the way she makes friends and becomes an English teacher, instructing girls during that turbulent time that is also unfamiliar to me; the '60s.

      Josephine Byrnes stars as Sister Catherine, a student of literature and science who confronts every long-held belief the church has in pursuit of her own answers about God. Catherine’s best friend, the gentle and naïve Sister Paul, is ably played by Lisa Hensley - running a gamut of emotions throughout - but the real highlight of this drama is Sandy Gore playing the Mother Superior Ambrose. At times you can feel the claustrophobic weight of the world on her shoulders as she tries to shepherd her nuns through the massive upheavals in the church of the time. Carrying herself with all the dignity and courage she can muster, she walks through the series with a quiet grace and calm that reflects the respect required of her character.

      The final notable mention among the nuns should be to Brenda Fricker, who plays the grumpy Sister Agnes. Wholly devoted to both God and the church, she doesn’t suffer lightly others who do not carry the same weight as her faith. When her steel eye settles on a character and ever so slightly narrows, you almost feel the weight of her gaze bore straight into you watching at home (and prompting your confessions).

      Naturally, being a Catholic girl’s school there are the various issues of teen pregnancy, rebellion and divorcing parents to contend with and these are dealt with in the stories of three girls; Bridget (Melissa Thomas), Rosemary and Frances. For those mesmerised by the recent films of Naomi Watts (except Ned Kelly), this is a great opportunity to witness some of her early work playing the confused Frances and Kim Wilson should get a mention too, as the Rolling Stones groupie Rosemary. She gets herself into so many crazy scrapes the little scamp will win your heart.

      Another classic Russ performance comes in from a much younger and less well-paid Russell Crowe. His quivering might cause a wince or two at some point, but he’s not in it all that much, so hang in there.

      Over six engrossing parts we watch the mysteries of the school and convent life unfurling before us as these women struggle with personal crises and triumphs. There are subtle commentaries on war, contraception, sex before marriage, sex during marriage, convent life and convent death. Not much is spared either, as the catholic religion gets a thorough going over – though, curiously, it is neither condemned nor absolved in the end; it just is.

      330 minutes is a long time in real life, let alone on TV, but it’s not so long when it’s spent in the company of such a fine gathering of Australian talent. The writing is well researched and well executed, the attention to detail is extraordinary and I couldn’t fault the casting in the least (yes, okay, even Russell is acceptable). Director Ken Cameron has guided his actors well, catching just the right amount of humour, torment and honesty from his cast. I shouldn’t recommend watching the whole thing in one sitting, but you will no doubt wish to watch ‘just one more’ as you come to the conclusion of each part. So, good luck with that.

        Video
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      Crystal clear vision here. Compared to a broken tape I viewed of this same series about a year ago, it’s like real life it’s so damn (pardon) darn clean. I was witness though to something rather extraordinary in Episode Two, Frances. In Chapter One at the 5:38 second mark there is a curious wash across the bottom of the screen. Is it an angel captured on film? I doubt it, but as Naomi herself was on-screen at the time, one is left to wonder. Other than this and the odd layer change mid-scene, there is little to speak of videowise. As nice a transition as we have come to expect from the good folk at the ABC. Being shot for TV there are no real film artefacts or damage to picture of note, other than the ‘angel-sighting’ I’m claiming. All on-screen text is sharply defined with very little shimmering and looks most satisfactory (chances are you’ll fast forward the credits anyway, though, right? I mean, you gonna watch the same opening and closing titles six times in a row? Not me.)

        Audio
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      The sound is great. Unfortunately, as one could expect being a mini-series, the same choir riff is played to death at the start and end of each episode, as well as the main menu, so don’t leave it unattended for even a minute or you may turn all unchristian toward it. There’s no need for four-deep piled sound, so it's not employed. Also, being made to an ABC budget in 1991, perhaps nothing that complex was made during recording. Who can say? It doesn’t matter anyhow. The dialogue is clear, the music is clean and there is no noise or static to speak of.

        Extras
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      Unless we’ve started counting scene selection as a special feature, there’s nuthin’. That’s a shame really, as the ABC turn out a lot of great stuff and you’d think somewhere, somehow, something more was made about the show, but apparently not. It only has subtitles in English, making this part of the review really easy, actually.

        Overall  
      Contract

      Generally, if you liked the mini-series on telly, you’ll love it reproduced here in this clear as day version. However, if you’re like me and enjoyed the show, but want a little extra, you’ll be mildly disappointed. If you’ve never seen the series, I do recommend it as both an interesting excursion into Catholic life in the '60s, and as a showcase of an excellent Australian cast working with good material. Again, a great early vehicle for some world-beating actors who’ve made it big in the 12 years since this enormous project was completed.


    • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=2642
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        And I quote...
      "Both an interesting excursion into Catholic life in the '60s, and a showcase of an excellent Australian cast..."
      - Jules Faber
        Review Equipment
      • DVD Player:
            Nintaus DVD-N9901
      • TV:
            Sony 51cm
      • Receiver:
            Diamond
      • Speakers:
            Diamond
      • Surrounds:
            No Name
      • Audio Cables:
            Standard Optical
      • Video Cables:
            Standard Component RCA
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