Brides of Christ

Brides of Christ was a six part mini-series made by the ABC in the early nineties concerning the lives of a small group of nuns and their students in a time of upheaval both within society and the church. It was critically acclaimed and launched the careers of two of Australia's 'hottest Hollywood celebrities', Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts. Controversial because of its content in a Predominantly Christian Australia, it was never the less> critically acclaimed and highly memorable (being nine at the time of release I can still remember watching it). It is extremely small in focus as each of the 50 minute long six parts is named after the character it features. Diane looks at the calling of a young academic to the church, causing her to turn away from her mother and fiance, only to discover that church doctrine does not live up to her logical mind and questioning it only leads to punishment. Frances looks at a young girl trying to deal with her parents divorce and mothers remarrying in a time when it was considered a mortal sin. Ambrose examines the trials of being the Mother of a convent reluctantly being modernised, while also dealing with the death of her father, and an attraction to a divorced man. Rosemary deals with the lack of information about sex in society and the 'sexual blossoming' of a young girl. Paul follows a young nun who decides to leave the order in aid of love, only to discover that the convent was where she wanted to be. Finally Catherine returns to Diane, who fed up with the churches inactivity over the ban of the use of contraception decides to leave the order to write a novel about her life. All parts combine to tell the story of devote catholic life in Australia in the 60's. It deals with the sensitive issues of Divorce, Abortion, Promiscuousness, Teen Pregnancy, Love, and dares to suggest that perhaps catholic doctrine is not always right.

IMO one of the best mini series ever produced (not that I'm an authoritative source mind you), Brides of Christ ranks up there with the British production Edge of Darkness with a similar high level of the quality and intelligence in the writing, acting and general execution. (The subject matter and treatment could not be more different though.)

Each of the six episodes deals with a different aspect of Catholic life in 1960s Australia as viewed through the nuns and students of an Australian convent/school. While the setting and recurring characters remain constant, each episode concentrates on a different character (well, one character gets two episodes). There is also a subtle arc which spans the entire mini series.

The performances are uniformly excellent - to single anyone in the recurring or guest cast out would be to slight the others who haven't been mentioned. As a piece of casting trivia however, fans of the Australian production of the stage musical Les Misérables will be pleased that no less than four members of the original Australian cast appear in Brides of Christ in guest roles. One episode also features an early performance by Russell Crowe.

This series, dealing with issues such as loyalty, integrity, faith and change makes you feel and it makes you think. You don't have to be Catholic to appreciate this series (I'm not and loved it), just a fan of high quality television.

I was very young when the ABC presented the ‘critically acclaimed Australian mini-series, Brides of Christ' on Australian TV, back in 1991. All I knew is that I wanted to see it one day. Now that day has come. It tells the story of Roman Catholic nuns and life at their boarding school during the 1960s, showing the struggles for freedom, choice and tradition to be upheld at such a prestigious institution. With a great cast, and wonderful story, this is great entertainment for Catholics and any other religious denomination that might be fascinated as to what it means to be the ‘Brides of Christ'.

Behind the high convent walls, their lives are circumscribed by centuries old tradition, rites and disciplines. But in times of radical change and upheaval, the Brides of Christ are forced to reconcile the conflict between the ancient ways and the new. They are bound by vows, which set them apart, yet they must become part of the changing world. For many their faith will be sufficient to carry them through their personal crises. But some are tormented by questions that they cannot answer, disciplines they cannot follow and love they dare not feel. In their care are spirited teenagers, schooled in the old creed, yet eager to taste the new freedom.

The strongest aspect to the ‘BOC' series has to be its story, brilliantly written by screenwriters John Alsop and Sue Smith. The story was very creative, confronting, emotional, fascinating and interesting to learn what it is like to live life not only as nun, but a Catholic as well. The content to the stories were also very deep and meaningful, covering such issues as the ways of the church, the convent's feelings on ideologies, divorce/marriage, friendships, defiance, sex and birth control. Also, having each show named after one main character of the series, then making them the main focus of that particular show, was very effective and something I liked. My favourite episodes in the series are titled ‘Rosemary' and ‘Catherine', as I found both too be brilliant.

‘BOC' was well directed by Ken Cameron, giving us a very in-depth look at what is like to be part of a convent. He also showed us many things onscreen that even I had thought were not possible to see. The series was produced by Sue Masters famous for other ABC programs such as G.P. I feel that a lot of the success for ‘BOC' has to be attributed to Masters and her skills as a producer.

The series main stars include nuns such as Sister Agnes (Academy Award winner Brenda Fricker) and Mother Ambrose (Sandy Gore). Fricker shows here why she was chosen as a lead character for the program. While Gore shows a very strong presence onscreen, which suits the role she undertook as the mother of the convent.

You then have the younger nuns like Diane/Sister Catherine (Josephine Byrnes) and Sister Paul (Lisa Hensley). The transformation that takes place over both characters is fascinating to see. Catherine is a very liberal minded nun, as she takes a different point of view on many issues that are usually thought about in a very conservative manner by the nuns and the church. Paul is a funny character to watch, as she is very immature and naïve about life and its many experiences. However when she becomes a highly respected nun, she also turns out to be a very good school teacher at the same time.

The younger cast of BOC was also very good. Three best friends are Frances Heffernan (Naomi Watts), Rosemary Fitzgerald (Kym Wilson) and Bridget Maloney (Melissa Thomas), who show many times throughout BOC, that good friends are very hard to find. These girls are very big within the school, causing quite a commotion many times. Rosemary was my favourite character in BOC, as I found her stubbornness and defiance most noteworthy. Kym Wilson's performance as this character was terrific.

There was also some fine acting talent in very minor roles in BOC. The biggest has to be Bridget's brother, Dominic Maloney (Hollywood star Russel Crowe), who has a big effect on Rosemary. There was a teacher, Ian McGregor (Phillip Quast), who creates quite an impression at the convent, and a priest, Jack (Simon Burke), who Sister Paul is very keen on at one stage. However, Jack's views on life and the church are very weird to workout. Other characters include the Bishop (Michael Craig), Rosemary's mother, Judith Fitzgerald (the dish's Genevieve Mooy) and another of Bridget's siblings, Brendan Maloney (Brian Rooney).

The TV theme was subtly effective in the ‘Brides of Christ'. I like how it made me feel at the start and end of each episode, as it was just what the show needed. The music was composed by Mario Millo. The costumes designed for BOC were excellent, especially showing both the traditional and newer style of uniform for the nuns. This aspect of the series was done by Annie Marshall.

‘Brides of Christ', is a mini-series not just showing religious themes as such, but is also open to show what it means to defy the church and experience all of life's other wonders. It is my opinion that this show while being quite controversial was also very brave at the same time. My church has recently handed down a decision that I believe will separate the church, very much like some of the issues presented on ‘BOC'. The only reservation I had about watching a series such as this, were the feelings I had towards the Roman Catholic Church, which are very strong. While everyone is entitled to follow any religion they feel suits them, the Catholic's viewpoint on many issues is hard for me to accept and understand. While I am not a member of the Catholic Church, boy I am glad I was finally able to experience the great wonders of the ‘Brides of Christ'.

CMRS gives ‘Brides of Christ': 5 (Brilliant Mini-Series)

I loved this series although I'm not a Catholic, not Australian, not a woman. Extremely good exploration of conservative institution beset by a plateful of changes in turbulent times. Depicts how different woman struggle to find the path forward using their different talents and faculties to arrive at their own approach to challenges.

In my opinion, very well cast. I found the characters for the most part very involving. This mini series is a good example of how the Australian movie- and television-making industry outperformed the entire rest of the English-speaking world on any kind of per capita measure in producing wonderful projects in the last two decades of the 20th century.

This is a beautiful miniseries that had us weeping many, many time. If you love this show, you will also love Ballykissangel, and An American Rhapsody.You'll see a very young Naomi Watts, the wonderful Brenda Fricker and a young Russel Crowe. I am a Catholic, so I know a lot about priests and nuns, but if you are a non-Catholic you will find this to be very revealing about the mores of the Catholic Church and life in a convent. Even my most stoic friend-an atheist -was sobbing during the last show. My wife and I cry easily, but this baby will make any sensitive soul reach for the Kleenex. I might add that another great movie for lovers of shows about religion is Babette's Feast.