Jørgen Laursen Vig decided towards the end of his life that the somewhat dilapidated castle he'd owned for forty years in the Danish countryside could be best put to use as a Russian Orthodox monastery. He contacted the Patriarchate in Moscow, who sent a delegation to investigate. The Monastery documents the arrival of the delegation (of two nuns, a novice and the van driver) and subsequent discussions and negotiations between various parties.
At one stage, the negotiations appear to be at a stalemate as the delegation returns to Moscow, and no word is heard for many months. Mr. Vig appears to be at least partly motivated by self-interest (he wants pilgrims to stay and maintain the building), and his demands are sometimes met with amusement by the Russians.
The most captivating aspect of the film is Vig himself and his many idiosyncrasies. Not only does he look like someone from another century, but he is stuck in his ways and he admits it. He doesn't like the nuns and mentions he doesn't get on well with people. He has only been fond of one person in his life and he's long dead his father. Vig didn't relate particularly well with his mother, which he attributes to her nose. Vig has a thing about noses. And ears, too! The Monastery is not an insightful documentary, but rather what you might call a human interest film and is entertaining. I saw it at the Melbourne International Film Festival.