A stirringly beautiful documentary

Mother Vera
DIRECTORS: CÉCILE EMBLETON AND ALYS TOMLINSON

A black-and-white film about a Russian Orthodox nun is the kind of counter-cultural event that doesn’t divert media outlets from their usual runnels. But it is a great shame Mother Vera got so little attention (although it did get a BFI award), because it is a remarkable documentary in many discomfiting ways.

Filmmakers Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson were inspired by a photograph Tomlinson had taken in a Belarussian convent of a nun, perhaps in her late 30s but, circled by her Orthodox headdress, appearing ageless and raw. They returned to the convent to meet her – and made this film about Mother Vera. From the first languorous shots of fields endlessly drenched in rain or snow, one might think this was a folksy tale of old-fashioned piety: the truth turns out to be very different.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

REGISTER

Subscribe for unlimited access

SUBSCRIBE NOW

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login