Holy Days

New Zealand adventure comedy Holy Days, from filmmaker Nat Boltt, plays out like most road trip movies. There’s the unlikely fellowship (in this case three nuns and a boy grieving his dead mother), the looming deadline (the nuns are about to lose their convent to a property developer), and the chaotic pitstops along the way (fish guts on the ferry, a betting shop, and the classic “running out of petrol”). What makes Holy Days a journey worth being on is its dedication to representing tender and poignant moments of motherly care, rather than an overreliance on gross-out gags.

Elijah Tamati plays the aforementioned lost boy Brian, a young man struggling to cope with the loss of his mother and taking it out on his new step-mum-to-be Liz (Nat Boltt herself). Finding shelter and companionship amongst the nuns, Brian constantly gets into trouble in order to face penance and be “punished” with tasks at the convent. After hiding out from his latest act of rebellion, Brian overhears a plan to sell off the nuns’ home to a property developer. Leading him to join them across the country to locate the deeds and potentially visit a sacred mountaintop his mother had told him about.

Whilst many road trip films like Dumb and Dumber, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and Road Trip relied on outlandish comedic set pieces to make their movies memorable, Holy Days is a lot more toned down. The jokes are subtle, like Sister Luke (Miriam Margolyes) pinging her dentures out of her mouth or flashing her bum, or Sister Agnes (Judy Davis) lighting up a smoke any chance she gets. This eschewing of gut-busting humour does result in a dithering pace to the film that will certainly challenge the more impatient of viewers.

It’s the motherly surrogacy of the Sisters that really breaks through for the viewers willing to stay in the car, though. Brian is a boy in distress, and these women, previously pillars of the community, are able to reach him in a way that no one else can. They become the faithful Sam to his Frodo, as he intends to reach the mountaintop and finally say goodbye to his mother (rather than a ring, probably going to stop with the LOTR references now).

Cinematically, Holy Days is radiant to look at, with incredible, untouched landscapes to gorge on, and the period seventies setting does a lot to avoid the distractions that would have come with a modern telling of this story. The music, in particular the use of ukulele, adds a pretty charm to the atmosphere and makes this perfect cosy viewing.