The Boys of St. Vincent - Part 1 & 2 (Canada)

Horror, disgusting and unbeleivabale are some of the phrases that come to mind after you are done watching this 2 part mini-series / made for TV movie. Having been made in 1992, I can only imagine, how difficult would it have been to get it broadcast without repercussions. Based on some real life child sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, This is actually a 2 part film. The first film, "The Boys of St. Vincent", covers the sexual and physical abuse of a number of orphans by Brothers. The second film, "The Boys of St. Vincent: 15 Years Later", covers the trial of the Brothers that happens 15 years later as the title suggests.

Brother Lavin and 10-year old Kevin Reevey form the central protagonists of the story. St Vincent’s Orphanage is run by All Saint Brothers led by Brother Lavin. Their authority is overwhelming both physically and sexually. Brother Lavin fancies Kevin and sexually abuses him on multiple occasions including beating him up badly a couple of times. Another child Steven who is abused regularly also had a elder brother Brian in same orphanage. When a janitor complains, a detective takes the matter in hand and starts investigations when horrifying secrets are revealed. But the events are concealed and hushed by authorities, both fro the church and the judicial system. Brother Lavin leaves the church and a report is prepared minus any sexual references. First part ends with Kevin and Steve back in orphanage to deal with more. The second part moves 15 year sin future. Laving is now married with 2 kids and the case is suddenly re-opened and he is arrested. Kevin is now a young man but still haunted by his past. He refuses to stand at witness. A public hearing is setup for the case. Justice department, social services and church; they are all questioned. You still don’t see any regret in Lavin’s eyes. At the suggestion of the lawyer, Lavin starts seeing a psychiatrist and we get to know more about his past. But even still he has no regrets. He still believes it was his love for Kevin that made him do these things. Steven is also a grown up man but is now a drug addict. He is destroyed by the defence advocate, who reveals that he abused seven-year-old boys at the orphanage when he was 16. He dies of overdose which gives courage to Kevin to come out of his shell and testify against Lavin. His fate is left unanswered at the end for us viewers, even as we are left wondering like his wife, as to whether he ever molested his own two young sons.

These 2 part series is a highly powerful series. It is not a easy subject to watch. and even more difficult is to direct the subject with sensitivity and I think the makers did a splendid job. Acting by everyone is pretty good. Brother Lavin is pitiful yet vicious and ver dangerous at the same time. All child actors are superb. I am glad the sexual abuse scenes are now eroticised but at the same time, enough is shown for the viewers to know what exactly is happening. As hard and disturbing it is to watch this film, I think it i important for parents to watch this. The issue should not be hidden. We need to acknowledge and do something about this. At 90 minutes length of each part, this doesn’t fee stretched un necessarily. You feel exactly what the kids must be going through. The parts where the kids are playing also show that they did have some real child moments at times when they were not fearing getting abused by someone.

A disturbing film dealing with very unpleasant issue that some people would rather forget about. I highly recommend watching it. (8/10)