Solitude

Michele, (Vanessa Martinez) is an awkward 18 year-old, at the abbey as a working guest because, in her words: "My parents thought it was going to be a long summer with me hanging around the house making them sad because I have no friends."

Linda, (Wendy Anderson) thirty-five years old, in a troubled relationship, is there to try to sort things out. And Brother Bernard, (Lothaire Bluteau) in his mid thirties, has been there for many years, but for him the questioning never stops - there is no faith without doubt.

When Linda arrives at the abbey she is first seen as a threat by Michele, who is experiencing a series of infatuations as part of her search for identity. But, eager to adopt the role of mentor, Linda wins Michele's confidence, and advises her - in all Brother Bernard . Lothaire Bluteau things - to "go for it."

This Michele does by "trying on" the role of a nun – cutting her hair short and wearing religious garb. And by pursuing her infatuation with the storekeeper in the nearby small town. When this ends in embarrassment, Michele takes her anger and disappointment out on Linda, insulting her horribly as she is about to leave the abbey.

Linda delays her departure to help Brother Bernard find Michele (who has gone missing in the labyrinthian grounds of the abbey) and bring her back to apologize.

Brother Bernard eventually finds Michele, walking sadly on a lonely path in the woods. But when Michele returns to the abbey just as Linda is driving away, Linda pretends not to see her, and continues on her way back to the city.

So, Linda, through a casual act of betrayal, reveals herself as unchanged, despite her reflections and still stifled by the world of appearances. While Michele - through contemplation and risk - taking - experiences a degree of self - realization, of growth and maturation.

Even Brother Bernard experiences an epiphany of sorts - in a recognition that having one's feet on the ground and the sun on one's face really is a good thing, and a great gift. He concludes that not much else is knowable in this world - but that a life spent recognizing these simple gifts and giving thanks is a good life well lived.

"Solitude" peels away the daily grind of life and offers us hope in the future