Sister Loyola Galvin makes for a sprightly, sparkling figure as she ambles around Wellington’s Home of Compassion. Approaching 90 years of age, the nun shows no signs of stopping her duties caring for the centre’s sizeable grounds; her devotion and green thumb earning her the title of New Zealand’s Gardener of the Year in 2008. It was this accolade that first brought attention her way, yet it is Sister Loyola’s spirited outlook that solidifies her place in the spotlight. Documentary Gardening with Soul shows her in her element, dispensing wisdom and tending to the foliage in tandem.
The seasons may change as Jess Feast’s (Cowboys & Communists) film cycles from winter to the following autumn in Sister Loyola’s company; however the feature’s central figure remains a constant of anecdotes and revelations. Her tales are drawn from a life spent looking after others and directed not just into gardening, but also into helping anywhere she can, both now and throughout her more than 60 years as part of the Catholic order. The years do not weary the former nurse. She speaks passionately about her work, sorrowfully about friends now lost, and frankly about her faith – and about the repercussions of each.
Training in the medical profession, assisting with raising children in nee, and proffering her guidance as a chaplain: a wealth of tasks filled Sister Loyola’s many days before she took on gardening as a retirement project. Across New Zealand as well as in Australia, she was industrious in her efforts, with her commitment to landscaping approached with the same gusto she formerly mobilised for people. The current outlet for her passion is as much a method for coping with the inevitabilities of ageing as it is a mechanism of contributing. With the same candour seen throughout the movie, her most touching insights concern her impact and mortality.
Much of Gardening with Soul sees Sister Loyola face the camera for jovial conversations on a plethora of topics, always as happy to chat as writer/director Feast is eager to prompt where necessary. The filmmaker’s presence is measured, felt in probing questions that fill in any gaps in narrative or analysis, and in visual choices that look for beauty in the surroundings, allowing the feature to remain beholden to its central figure. An unassuming style and simple structure mimic the nun’s rhythms of confession and contemplation, and of open and discussion and reflective silence, which repeat for the documentary’s duration.
‘You can’t get bored in the garden’, the Sister offers, a sentiment shared by the film, which returns time and again to its manicured locale and its pithy proponent. Both subjects – the inspirational woman and her beloved setting – exceed the standard assemblage to blossom into something special; the film conveys this essence in an average but uplifting package.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Gardening with Soul
Director: Jess Feast
New Zealand, 2013, 100 mins
Release date: May 29
Distributor: Hi Gloss Entertainment
Rated: G
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