Mother Vera – London Film Festival 2024 – Film Review
Mother Vera is the cinematic winner of the Grierson Award in the Documentary competition at the 2024 London Film Festival which challenges this genre to be more ambitious with its storytelling techniques. Instead of the usual talking heads, interviews and flashbacks that may be present within current documentaries, Mother Vera embraces the stunning Belarusian landscape to unveil a fascinating character study intersecting religion and societal issues.
Vera as the titular character is an Orthodox nun based in Minsk within a remote setting, where she has lived for over twenty years. She is simultaneously grateful that the convent saved her during adverse moments of her life but is also suffering from a crisis of faith. This documentary is inspired by an intoxicating photograph by Alys Tomlinson of Vera within her 2018 Ex-Voto series. It is an intimate, central black and white portrait exuding both streams of light and starkness for which Tomlinson was awarded the top prize from Sony World Photography Awards as Photographer of the Year in 2018. This photograph’s influence can be felt within Mother Vera which is also filmed in black and white. There is that similar detached, photographic technique employed in moments as Vera’s voice can be heard within the voiceover narrative but she is not facing the camera directly and is not being interviewed. Instead, the camera is often undertaking the role of an observer, watching her environs and interactions silently in an unobtrusive manner. The effect is therefore a fictional, visually arresting piece from co-directors Cécile Embleton and Tomlinson.
Mother Vera contains a mixture of filming styles representing both Embleton and Tomlinson’s preferred styles. This results in a rich, introspective immersion in to this religious community. The film excels in its meditative approach with its slow pacing soaking up the dynamics inside the walls of the convent. The snowy atmosphere is framed beautifully as Vera rides horses across the convent’s grounds in breath-taking scenes. Wordlessly, such scenes unveil aspects of Vera’s activities and interests. There are hushed conversations and shadowy angles which provide that juxtaposition against the beauty of the snow-filled scenes. An eeriness is also embedded within the film with candlelit scenes and the austere cloaks worn by all of the nuns with glimpses in to their religious rituals. All of which amplifies a degree of secrecy but there are also elements of revelations as Vera’s voiceover comments indicate a past filled with addiction and other societal ailments. Subtly, the film demonstrates that the outside world may have been too dangerous for Olga and that there was a safety within her life within the closed confines as the Mother Vera.
It is during these few moments that insights are gleaned about Mother Vera’s life as despite being its central character the film unfortunately does not focus on her entirely. From the extracts, it appears that Vera had led a fascinating life as Olga in the outside world which are moments that could have been deeper explored. Still, the level of sheer artistry on display is acknowledged within the film which embraces naturalistic sounds, there are emphatic church bells chiming and the singing of the nuns provides an atmospheric other worldly sensation. Yet, despite this emphasis on the simplicity of their lives inside the convent, Vera seems to be overshadowed by the introduction of too many additional elements.
Whilst Vera questions her future and seeks answers outside of her refuge, the film also observes groups of men seeking rehabilitation. Embleton and Tomlinson’s approach to exploring Vera’s past and connection to this aspect of rehabilitation by use of soft transitions is engaging. As such, there is that sensation of being hypnotised by the stunning visual aesthetics employed which portray a degree of spirituality fitting for the subject. Cleverly, the portraits of the horses also embody that sense of freedom that emerges within Vera, whilst riding those horses, which also signal a direction that her future path may follow.
Mother Vera enrobes its audience within a still, beautiful landscape sheltered away from society’s ills but is unafraid to explore the inner conflict this may present. It is an intriguing case study to observe without the obvious traits of an overly edited exposé thereby resulting in a marked contrast that is likely to revolutionise traditional documentary filmmaking. Mesmerising and quietly probing, Mother Vera is captivating from start to finish in its intimacy.
