Inquiring Nuns
Sister Mary Arné and Sister Mary Campion are already instruments of the Almighty, but serving as extensions of the documentary collective Kartemquin takes some getting used to. It’s 1967 and, filmed in black and white, the world looks trim and tidy. Out on the streets of Chicago the two charming young nuns with radiant smiles ask random passers-by whether they feel happy, and what makes them happy or unhappy.
When asked what they and the cameraman following in their wake are doing, the two nuns say it’s a film experiment. The result is as complex as it is simple: people respond to the question and we observe how they do so. We hear precisely what they say, see how the two Marys react, and watch the interaction taking shape.
The nuns have no experience as interviewers—before starting filming they were advised just to follow their feelings. In this documentary they prove themselves to be remarkably adept at navigating these personal interactions. They listen with compassion to the interviewees, and each confidence they share is added to an anthropological survey of happiness—a happiness largely overshadowed by the war in Vietnam.