Brides Of Christ (Mini-Series)
Picture: C
Sound: B- Extras: C- Episodes: C+
For whatever reason, the Australian TV Mini-Series Brides
Of Christ (1991) was a hit involving whether women becoming nuns could be
happy Down Under or not in the early 1960s.
Do some of them have a love outside of their faith and will they make
the right choice? Is being a nun really
the right choice for them? The
historical crisis and moral crisis here are very melodramatic and overblown,
but it was enough to be a hit and Having Brenda Flicker, Naomi Watts and
Russell Crowe before they became big motion picture stars did not hurt.
Yes, it is well acted and played seriously throughout, so
those who want to enjoy it will have an easier time. Too bad it drags on if you are not interested or amused. Obviously, the women either have to decide
whether they can have their faith explicitly as nuns, implicitly as followers
or drop their faith altogether. It’s
that simple, though it is made a struggle more than (or different than) it
would be in real life. It is obviously
taking faith seriously, so anyone religious should have no major problems
unless they are extremists who think the women should just conform and shut up. In that case, you’d be better off watching
Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore in Change Of Habit. Otherwise, this is a quality curio for the
actors and all others should only apply on that basis.
The 1.33 X 1 image is soft and slightly off color
throughout, though this likely looks a bit better in real life in a simple case
of second-generation transfer. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has some Pro Logic surrounds. The few extras are info on Vatican II and
text on the cast and crew.
- Nicholas Sheffo