Why Should Everyone Should See Les Miserables (whether you like musical theater or not)?

Because it is about METANOIA, in the most complete sense of the word.

I had mixed feelings when I heard about the film production of Les Miserables last fall. I was concerned that a film version would turn this magnificent musical into a chopped up mess. I thought movie-musicals were a lost art. I didn't think it could be pulled off.

I waited until last Sunday to see it, not by choice. I came down with that nasty influenza that swept the nation, and I was down for about a month (count your blessings if if you avoided it). As much as I was curious, though, and as much buzz that the film has generated over the last month, I completely avoided anything by way of commentary about it, because I wanted to formulate my own thoughts.

I am so glad I did. It's the best movie-musical I have ever seen.

More importantly, though, is the story itself. In a merciless world, one merciless man is shown mercy, and that one act of mercy changes him. From the moment he realizes what has been shown him, he lives a deliberately good life, even when it meant certain hardship, loss, or the possibility of death. This is the heart of Metanoia--to make the decision to live better, to try harder, to be more Christlike today than you were yesterday, and to leave yourself behind.

If you're not into musicals, this will be a tough one for you. It's nearly an opera, as much of the dialog is sung rather than spoken. Try to get past it, though, and see this film, if for no other reason than this:

"So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century--the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of women through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light--are unsolved; so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world;--in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books [and their adaptations for stage and screen*] of the nature of Les Miserables cannot fail to be of use."

Preface, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
*my addition.

The Way

Wes Bentley's Inspiring Witness

As of today, the nearest theater carrying this film is almost 400 miles away from me. hmmf. I'll just buy it on DVD if I have to--I can be patient.

"We survived because we were living the message of Fatima."

There Be Dragons

My prayer is that God will bless this work, driving people of all walks of life to learn the REAL story behind St. Josemaría Escrivá, his writings, his works and his magnificent legacy: Opus Dei.

Catholicism Highlights

10 Months To Go...I am REALLY trying to be patient.

Sneek Peek of The Catholicism Project

It's due out in Fall of 2011. I am trying to be patient. Really, I am.

CLICK HERE to learn more about this groundbreaking production from Word on Fire.

Becoming A Saint

"Our ultimate goal is to be a saint. It is our greatest calling and what is desired for us by our Creator. Father Robert Barron paints a beautiful and mysterious image of what it takes to be a follower of, 'the One who is, Jesus Christ.'" Read more about Untold Blessing: Three Paths To Holiness at the Word On Fire online store.

I bought Untold Blessing in the Viewer's Choice DVD Pack, and I think it was some of the best money I ever spent. I've purchased quite a few of Fr. Barron's videos, and have loaned them all out over the last few months to friends and family for a variety of reasons and applications.

I think what makes Fr. Barron's media so compelling is his ability to hold our culture up against the truth, and to explain how our culture measures up against it in a way that everyone can understand. He doesn't shy away from those harder truths, either. In Untold Blessing: Three Paths To Holiness, Fr. Barron lays out for us what it means to have a properly ordered life and how to achieve it, in a way that inspires the viewer to strive for the prize.

Today as we honor all the saints in Heaven, may we each rededicate ourselves toward achieving our places with them.

For Your Film Collection

Click here to read a review of The 13th Day.

WATCH THIS MOVIE!

I was so engrossed in "Paul VI: The Pope in the Tempest" that the part two opening credits took me by surprise. From the opening sequence through the entire film, Italian director Fabrizio Costa's made-for-TV film chronicles the priesthood of Fr. Giovanni Baptista Montini against the volatile backdrop of a world in constant change as it continually crashes against the unyielding walls of truth that Fr. Montini would spend his life, and sometimes his public regard, upholding.

The film begins with Montini as a young priest appointed to the Vatican under Pope Pius XI. He would serve as Secretary of State and Archbishop of Milan before being elected Pope by a reportedly unanimous decision. He was the first Pope to travel in over 100 years, visiting every populated continent on earth; he took on the Second Vatican Council midway and saw its completion; he lived through fascism, war, reconstruction, civil unrest and tenaciously upheld the truth through it all, whether it was accepted or not.

Portraying the 263rd Pontiff was given to the very capable Fabrizio Gifuni, one of Italy's most sought-after actors. Too often we forget that the successors of St. Peter are before anything human beings. Gifuni's performance affirms Paul VI's humanity through depicting him with compassion and a natural ease.  His performance was bolstered by some of Italy's most prominent and accomplished actors--Mauro Marino, Antonio Catania, Licia Maglietta, and so many more--who brought more of that same authentic humanity to the film.

Costa used real news footage to punctuate the historical elements of his aptly shot film, as highlights to the more important elements of the story. They could have been woven in slightly better, but overall it worked. Costa remained as accurate as he could to history. Nothing was sugar coated in this film. Paul VI's positions were not always popular, particularly after issuing the two encyclicals which ultimately defined his papacy: Populorum Progressio and Humanae Vitae. Through the human stories, though, we can begin to see the incredible burden the Holy Father must bear, at unbelievable personal costs.

There is plenty in this film on which to chew. I'm definitely a subtitle girl, and am glad that this film wasn't overdubbed, as it would have altered the brilliant performances. If you're not used to subtitles, or if you've never watched a film with subtitles, this is a good film with which to start. Additional features include a 16-page booklet and a documentary on Pope Paul VI.  Overall, "Paul VI: The Pope in the Tempest" is a film that every Catholic should see.

You can purchase this movie here.

I wrote this review of Paul VI for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source for First Communion Gifts. For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.

Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.

I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River. (Woo hoo! Lucky me!)

Lucky 13

We sat holding our breath for the entire 85 minutes.  Parts of it had us in tears.  Our formerly-Wednesday-night-now-Tuesday-night-while-our-husbands-group group absolutely loved The 13th Day.  Buy this film and pass it around to all of your family and friends.

Ian and Dominic Higgins present the true story of Fatima artistically and authentically. They took great care to be as true to not just the facts, but to the people, as possible. The cast really delivered as well. I was most impressed with Jane Lesley's portrayal of Maria dos Santos, Lucia's obstinate, doubting mother who takes out her doubts on her daughter with vitriol. It's a hard thing to believe that Heaven would open up to the remotest, poorest parts of the world, and we in our warped little minds question whom Our Lady chooses, especially when they don't fit into the molds we've constructed of what a visionary should be.

Wherever Our Lady appears, we assume there will be some magical harmony; the dos Santos family, already poor, suffered immensely as thousands of people, ranging from devout believers to curiosity seekers, trampled their land. Many accused the children of lying, claimed that they were seeing the devil or were possessed.

Two died very young, Francisco at age 11 and Jacinta at age 9.  Jacinta was incorrupt when her body was exhumed. Lucia went to school, became a nun and then joined the Carmelite order. She died in 2005.

Coming Soon...

A Small Screen Gem For Every Catholic's DVD Library

Kappler:  "I own Rome; not you, not the Pope.  Just because you wear a frock--it won't protect you. Remember your gunrunner priest?"

O'Flaherty:  "I do remember him.  And so does every person in Italy who understands the meaning of freedom."


I literally just finished watching The Scarlet and the Black, the 1983 television movie based on a true story starring Gregory Peck as Msgr. Hugh O'Flaherty, a golfer, a boxer, a vatican diplomat and social butterfly, who managed to save thousands of escaped P.O.W.s during the Nazi occupation of Italy. The movie also stars Christopher Plummer as SS Colonel Herbert Kappler who became obsessed with capturing Msgr. O'Flaherty, but could never seem to catch him.

This is the only WWII film I've ever seen that really depicts the war from the point of view of the Church.  I came away from this film with a much clearer understanding of the kind of pressure that Pope Pius XII was under from all sides.  Hitler didn't just want to destroy the Church; he wanted to capture her, so he could install his own people and use her to further propagate heresy and advance his own agenda.  At the same time, the people were crying out to the Church to do something, and were openly critical of the Holy Father for not being as aggressive with the Nazis as they'd have liked him to be.  The Scarlet and the Black attempts (and in my opinion succeeds )to show the kinds of complex problems the Catholic Church faced during a time of great horror, particularly why she didn't race into action with guns blazing like so many think should have happened.

All in all, this is a film that all Catholics need to see.

You Can't Always Follow Your Heart

"You can't always follow your heart, because your heart can be deceived. You have to lead your heart." When Michael shared this very simple, yet very powerful statement with Caleb in the Providence Films production titled Fireproof starring Kirk Cameron, it marked a pivotal moment for Caleb as he began a journey of faith in God and a heartfelt attempt to save his failing marriage.

Michael is right. The heart CAN be deceived. Wasn't Eve's heart deceived by the serpent? Wasn't Adam's as well? When we spend too much time analyzing how we feel about everything, how can we really make the best decisions for ourselves? When we "follow our hearts", aren't we really only serving ourselves, living to satisfy our own feelings and emotions?

That's the lesson Michael had to learn before he could really find out whether or not his marriage could be saved. If you haven't seen it yet, Fireproof is a well-spent two hours--even if your marriage is fireproof already.