Brides of Christ (1991)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by John Alsop and Sue Smith
Directed by Ken Cameron
Starring Brenda Fricker, Naomi Watts, Sandy Gore, Josephine Byrnes, Lisa Hensley, Simon Burke, Melissa Jaffer, Philip Quast, Pat Bishop, Kym Wilson, and Russell Crowe

Features:

• Cast Biography
  
• About Vatican II
  
• Weblink
  

Released by: Wellspring
Rating: NR (some content unsuitable for younger audiences)
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Rent it

Not even was the convent safe from the sexual revolution of the 1960s. For a handful of young nuns in the convent Santo Spirito, this newfound freedom of young women the world over may very well prove to be too much for their faith and for their vows. It's most definitely a brave new world and the church had to find a way to navigate its way through the changes if it hoped to come out unscathed. This miniseries is broken up into six parts, each focusing on a different young sister and her struggles with the church and the lure of a brave new world where it is increasingly popular to question not only authority, but the very nature of God himself.

This series is very well done. Brenda Fricker is outstanding as the overbearing Sister Agnes. She is nothing less than inspiring in her role as the lady who is charged with the training of God's newest brides. That having been said, even though she's the standout, there's really no weakness to be found in the cast at all. It's a very touching story and you are instantly drawn into each of the characters' lives and their storylines; if for no other reason than to see whether or not they actually survive the training to take their vows.

I will give one little spoiler for you, though: they invoke Russell Crowe's name on the cover of this DVD as though he were one of the strongest secondary players in the series. If you really think about it, the series is set in a convent. He is very strong in his role, yes, but there's just not much of it. And you have to wait until the fourth episode to get to see him work. The production designers should also be commended for their attention to detail, not only with the details of the convent, but in the recreation of the world of the 1960s within the convent.

The DVD is as good as can be expected for an Australian miniseries, I guess. There isn't a lot to it, but I'm guessing there wasn't a great deal of publicity interviews or behind-the-scenes footage taken at the time this was put together. That having been said, there is a wonderful essay on the formation of the Second Vatican Council, Vatican II, which was created in 1962 by newly-elected Pope John XXII. I won't go into very much detail, but if you are a history buff, you will certainly enjoy reading this. It's just a shame that they couldn't have included a mini-docu about this subject. I would love to know more.

The rest of the special features are nothing more than cast biographies and a list of the credits for the miniseries. The only weblink is to the website for Lance Entertainment's website. I would have hoped that they could have used the internet to fill in some of the holes about the history of the Catholic Church during this time, but alas.

If you are looking for Russell Crowe, you might want to skip this one. However, if you are interested in seeing a miniseries done the way they should be, you might want to pick this one up as a rental. I don't think it warrants a purchase without some better special features to fill out the set.