Unable to deal with the idea of his mother being replaced, Brian finds refuge with three ageing nuns who are the last inhabitants of a dilapidated convent nearby.

THIS SWEET Canadian-New Zealand road movie succeeds despite its various faults. The set-up is overlong, the gags – from ill-fitting dentures to nuns who smoke, dance to Aretha Franklin, gleefully talk about rumpy-pumpy and drive too slowly – are a bit lame, and the big transformative scene looks as if the director wasn’t entirely sure how to shoot it. Similarly, the classic adventures on the road – running out of petrol, running out of money and having to find ways not to miss crucial ferries – could have been finessed more cleverly. Yet, nonetheless, Holy Days is moving and enriching.

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