Mother Vera

Olga is a young Belorussian woman who entered holy orders whilst her husband Oleg was in prison. Her plan was to return to a society that she had hitherto embraced, but a combination of circumstances conspire to make that plan redundant. Set against the monochrome photography of the rural and snowy farm which provides for their monastery, we see how she now strives to fit in. We are also introduced to some from her broader, fairly orthodox Christian, community and witness some of the conflicting attitudes amongst a population barely at peace with itself, yet still turning up religiously to hear the tolerant doctrines of the priest. Gradually, we come to know her over ninety minutes and watch her come to terms with, perhaps even appreciate, the frugally subsistent existence of her new life. She’s an horse lover, and that takes her briefly to France but for the most part this remains firmly at home. It’s filmed as if it were an observational documentary, and for a while that is quite impactful. After half an hour, though, I found the production started to look just a little too staged. Not in a choreographed fashion, but the gatherings around the fire and the supposedly spontaneous chatting started to look a little too designed for us rather than those taking part. In fact, as her story advances, I couldn’t help but think this would have been better as a drama. Still, there’s a welcome paucity of dialogue that allows the imagery to do the heavy lifting and it does convey something of the bleakness of a life where forgiveness and a devotion to God were all-sustaining.