Final Vows, on OVID.tv

They are cloistered, but they have not taken vows of silence. Indeed, some of the Cistercian Sisters often joke that they remain quite outspoken. Nevertheless, their documentary shares a kinship with the surprise arthouse hit, Into Great Silence. Prayer, faith, and routine all help define (and elevate) life at Santa Rita Abbey, which Victoria Westover documents in Final Vows, premiering today on OVID.tv.

Even if you never visited the Abbey situated high in the Arizona desert, you might have partaken of the Communion “Breads,” that the Cistercian Sisters produce and ship around the world. They are indeed largely self-sufficient, performing building maintenance with more skill than most big city supers.

While they live removed from secular hustle-and-bustle, it is possible to visit the Abbey. However, it is not somewhere you can just pop-in on impulse. Consequently, most days the sisters simply spend with themselves. As Westover quietly observes, their days are filled with prayer and work, which is the whole point of monastic life.

Indeed, Final Vows is at its best when capturing the atmosphere of quiet contemplation. Westover clearly respects their faith and commitment. Arguably, this is one of the most sympathetic documentary treatments of Catholicism produced by the documentary establishment. Maybe it is because of the Sisters’ rather simplistic opposition to a prospective Copper mine proposed for the mountain range along their horizon.

Unfortunately (for national security and economic stability), the Rosemont Copper mine was blocked during filming, almost as if in answer to the nuns’ prayers. However, the fact remains Copper is a critical component for EV and sustainable energy tech, but the U.S. must rely on foreign sources, such as China, an oppressive hostile power, and the DRC, which employs children in their mines, under slave-like conditions. Frankly the unintended consequences of blocking Rosemont are potentially quite dire and cruel. Of course, nobody bothers to ask such questions in the film. These are indeed worldly concerns, whereas the Sisters are literally cloistered.

Westover helps viewers understand their very spiritual approach to life. Not surprisingly, recruitment has become an issue across monastic orders. The Sisters themselves repeatedly admit women have exponentially more opportunities than when their order was first founded. As a result, far less women have taken vows. Nonetheless, Final Vows should foster appreciation for the monastic way of life. Arguably, if it helps attract even one novice, it would be statistically significant. Respectfully recommended for its quiet humanism, Final Vows premieres today (1/2) on OVID.tv.