"Brides of Christ" (1991) TV mini-series

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Ken Cameron

Writers:

John Alsop (writer)
Sue Smith (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Diane, a young woman growing up in Australia in the mid 1960s, walks away from her fiancé to join a...

Plot Keywords:

Convent | Abortion | Australia | Novice | Nun

Awards:

8 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Brenda Fricker	...	Sister Agnes
Sandy Gore	...	Mother Ambrose
Josephine Byrnes	...	Diane / Sister Catherine
Lisa Hensley	...	Veronica / Sister Paul
Simon Burke	...	Jack Delahunty
Melissa Jaffer	...	Sister Attracta
Philip Quast	...	Ian McGregor
Pat Bishop	...	Mary Maloney
Naomi Watts	...	Frances Heffernan
Kym Wilson	...	Rosemary Fitzgerald
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Braunstein	...	Frank Markham
Beth Champion	...	Sister Clare
Dimity Clancey	...	Moya Maloney
Gian Clancey	...	Kerry Maloney
Vanessa Collier	...	Jacinta
Syd Conabere	...	Da
Christen Cornell	...	Lucy Mulcady
Michael Craig	...	Bishop
Russell Crowe	...	Dominic Maloney
Christine Degeuron	...	Mrs. Upton
Ann Fay	...	Sister Innocent
Stuart Finch	...	Father Riordan
John Frawley	...	Bishop
Frank Gallacher	...	Priest
Caroline Gillmer	...	Sister Philomena
Pippa Grandison	...	Bernadette
Deborah Hanley	...	Mary Statue
Damon Herriman	...	Grant
Connie Hobbs	...	Sister Pierre
Keith Holloway	...	Lawrie Tierney
Harold Hopkins	...	Ken Maloney
Joy Hruby	...	Sister Polycarp
John Langrishe	...	Tom Heffernan
Adrian Lee	...	Kevin
Stephen Leeder	...	Brother Thomas
Liberty Lee	...	Frances, aged 8
Tathom Lennox	...	Anne Fitzgerald
Ned Manning	...	Helen
Rhys McConnochie	...	Monsignor
Kirsty McGregor	...	Caroline
Kristen Minichbauer	...	Carmel Fitzgerald
Genevieve Mooy	...	Judith Fitzgerald
Antonia Murphy	...	Novice Therese
Russell Newman	...	Brother Louis
Louise Pajo	...	Jean Markham
Michelle Pettigrove	...	Sister Francine
Hazel Phillips	...	Mrs. Purley
Brian Rooney	...	Brendan Maloney
Irene Rowland	...	Sister Perpetua
Rob Steele	...	Senator Kearney
Penny Stehli	...	Sister Patrick
John Stone	...	Roger Conlan
Bianca Sulkowicz	...	Diane, aged 6
Leo Taylor	...	Bill Fitzgerald
Anne Tenney	...	Liz Heffernan (Elizabeth Jane Heffernan-Colman)
Melissa Thomas	...	Brigid Maloney
Paul Williams	...	Mark
Michael Winchester	...	Martin Tierney

Country:

Australia | UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Santa Sabina College, Strathfield, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

Quotes:

Diane: That's the way it was with these women. When you called into question everything they stood for, when you spat, complained and argued, they returned love. I was surrounded by strong, luminous women intent on doing good.

One of the best mini series ever

IMO one of the best mini series ever produced (not that I'm an authoritative source mind you), Brides of Christ ranks up there with the British production Edge of Darkness with a similar high level of the quality and intelligence in the writing, acting and general execution. (The subject matter and treatment could not be more different though.)

Each of the six episodes deals with a different aspect of Catholic life in 1960s Australia as viewed through the nuns and students of an Australian convent/school. While the setting and recurring characters remain constant, each episode concentrates on a different character (well, one character gets two episodes). There is also a subtle arc which spans the entire mini series.

The performances are uniformly excellent - to single anyone in the recurring or guest cast out would be to slight the others who haven't been mentioned. As a piece of casting trivia however, fans of the Australian production of the stage musical Les Misérables will be pleased that no less than four members of the original Australian cast appear in Brides of Christ in guest roles. One episode also features an early performance by Russell Crowe.

This series, dealing with issues such as loyalty, integrity, faith and change makes you feel and it makes you think. You don't have to be Catholic to appreciate this series (I'm not and loved it), just a fan of high quality television.