‘Our life is a hidden one but we’re happy to share it with the wider world’
MONKS FEATURED IN BBC DOCUMENTARY HAIL DIRECTOR AND FILM’S IMPACT
MONKS at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey say they are thrilled with the way BBC documentary, Brotherhood: The Inner Life of Monks turned out, as it allowed them to share their reality with the world.
The documentary by Leicester filmmaker Nick Hamer was shown on BBC4 on March 28 and has been widely praised by TV critics and audiences who described it as “a fantastic watch”.
Nick spent a year working with the monks at the abbey, which was founded in 1835 near Whitwick, the first permanent monastery to be founded in England after the Reformation.
The Mercury has spoken to some of the monks involved in the filming, who said it was “strange” to be filmed, but say they feel it has done the monastery good.
The elected abbot of the Trappist monastery, Father Joseph Delargy, said: “I am thrilled with the documentary.
“Nick tried to show it as it is. He didn’t try to romanticise the life but showed it in its day-to-day reality.”
Monk Dom Erick Varden believes the film had a positive impact and has benefited the monastery.
“I am so glad the BBC programme has made an impact for good,” he said.
“The film really does carry a message. Nick did a tremendous job.
“I am happy that critical acclaim comes his way. And it does the monastery good.” Father Delargy said: “Nick was very discrete and unobtrusive.
“He had lived with us for a whole week before filming began and followed all the monastic routines so
he had a real understanding and sympathy with our life.
“There was no big crew and most of the filming was just done by Nick.
“It is strange to be on TV for our life is a hidden life and we are not accustomed to that degree of exposure.
“But we were happy to do it in order to share our life with the wider world.”
Brother Bernard John said: “The film gave a fair account of the life here. Nick Hamer did it differently to other monastic documentaries. It was very nicely done.”
Nick was given special inside access in the novitiate, the area used to house novice monks or priests, where he lived for seven days and
his film aimed to give an insight into the world of a group of people whose lives are different from our own.
He said: “That’s what makes these men interesting, they represent a counter cultural perspective.
“Of course the monastic life is not for everyone, but there’s certainly something we can all learn from these monks.”
The documentary was chosen as the Critics Choice in The Independent, which wrote: “Nick Hamer’s warm, meditative film captures the mood of the community at a pivotal moment when, having abandoned their no-longer-viable agricultural pursuits, the monks invest in the future with a bold move into hi-tech brewing.”