A Review of Free by Nick Olszyk
Distribution: Fathom Events, Nov. 2nd
MPAA Rating, Unrated at the
time of this review
USCCB Rating, Unrated at the
time of this review
Reel Rating, 4/5
The world of 2023 is a noisy place – so noisy
that even taking a ten-minute walk without airpods is a traumatic experience. Monasticism
provides an alternative that not only gives a meaningful life for those who are
called but a necessary foundation for foot soldiers in the rat race. Free
is a short, meandering, and beautiful documentary that examines the life of these
monks and nuns in several Spanish orders. Their reflections, attitudes, and
simple happiness provide a path to peace that so many claim to want but so few
seem to travel.
The documentary is
broken into three sections based on John 14: Way, Truth, and Life. In the “Way,”
the monastics tell their vocation stories. Like the calendar of the saints,
they come from all backgrounds and situations. Some were only teens when they
entered religious life, others in their 60s. A few came from wealth and privilege,
and – like St. Francis – gave up everything. Others were poor from the beginning,
the lifestyle not terribly different once entered. One young monk was even a
Satanist who “admired serial killers,” only coming to the faith after the continual
prayer of his mother. In the “Truth,” the audience is told of their daily
lives. This section typifies St. Benedict’s motto of “prayer and work.” Despite
their reputation, their schedules are filled. There’s Mass, Bible study,
personal prayer, communal prayer, working in the garden, washing laundry, and
much more. Finally, there is the “Life,” which ironically is mostly about
death. The audience sees them getting old, their bodies breaking down. One elderly
novice is diagnosed with cancer and tries to leave, not wanting “to be a burden.”
Her future sisters insist she stay; it is an honor for them to serve her, even
if for a short while.
The content of Free
is almost entirely interviews. There is no score, no narration, even minimal
camera movement. Like the anonymous master illuminators of the medieval age,
none of the monastics are named. Precious little of their daily life is shown,
instead it is their philosophy that shines. While the subjects are frequently
onscreen, director Santos Blano also wanders off into landscape cinematography
of hills, rivers, and farmland while the spoken dialogue continues. The
structure of the film is extremely loose, going off on tangent after tangent as
the speaker wishes. As such, the visuals and words gradually become a
meditative text in themselves, inviting the viewer to reflect and find meaning
in the same vein as Sirach or Proverbs.
What struck me most was
the profound sense of peace and joy these people experience, even in moments of
great hardship. One monk, worried by three suicides in his family, comes to a
place where he finally can calm his mind. Another nun can barely walk but always
jokes and wears a smile. Nobody is “troubled” or “concerned” about political
causes or world events. In their detachment, the monastics see that God always
wins out. Christ is risen, and this is what makes us “free.”
At the beginning, the
filmmakers claim that their access to the cloistered religious is “unprecedented.”
This isn’t true. In the early 2000s, German director Philip Groning spent six
months living in a French Carthusian monastery. His masterpiece Into Great
Silence is a superior expose on the inner workings of Catholic
asceticism. Yet Free is more approachable and better for the masses. In
the last few minutes, a sickly nun – soon to be in Heaven – encourages the
audience to “grow where you are planted.” Their reflections on love, sacrifice,
silence, joy, prayer, and so much else can and should be used by all. They are
not just an example to be praised but a model to be imitated.
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