Saintly lives at center of Notre Dame film festival
By John Shaughnessy
A teenage girl faces overwhelming odds trying to dedicate her life to God.
A young priest stricken by a life-threatening illness confronts a personal crisis of faith.
A priest in a Nazi death camp has to weigh the possible executions of family and friends against the pressure to betray his faith and his beliefs.
Those stories are among the six movies being featured in the first “Films and Faith” festival at the University of Notre Dame from Oct. 27-29.
“Each of these films will encourage people to talk about the issues shown in the movie and connect them to their own lives,” said Donald Crafton, a professor of film, television and theatre at Notre Dame. “Even if we’re not a priest facing a conflict during the Holocaust, we all have conflict in our lives. Hopefully, these films will provide models in dealing with these conflicts.”
Diary of a Country Priest tells the story of the young priest with the life-threatening illness.
Thérèse and Household Saints show young women striving to lead lives totally committed to God.
The Flowers of St. Francis portrays the saint’s life of humility, compassion and sacrifice.
The Ninth Day is based on the experiences of a real priest facing the Holocaust.
“We purposely chose films that were not only about real saints but saintly people,” Crafton said. “Saintliness is an option for everyone. These are people who have led lives that are in some way exemplary and should be an inspiration for all of us.”
Another film, Into Great Silence, could be the highlight of the series, according to Crafton.
“This is a film that has just been picked up by a U.S. distributor just a month ago,” Crafton said. “It will really be a premiere for us. It’s on a monastery in the French Alps. The monks are a silent order. It follows them around and looks at their everyday lives. It sounds boring, but the reaction has been very enthusiastic by all the reviewers.”
The festival is a way to celebrate films as an art form and as a medium to share messages—an approach that the Catholic Church has embraced, Crafton said.
“Film can be a very persuasive medium,” he said. “It can bring emotion to concepts like sacrifice and compassion. It can also use drama to convey ideas of redemption.
“One of the defining things about the Catholic Church is its attitude to the arts and how it has always embraced cinema as part of its outreach mission. The Vatican has its own film archives. The Church has always accepted film as a way of communicating Christian ideas and attitudes.”
Has a movie had an impact on your faith?
Has a particular movie had an impact on your faith? If so, The Criterion is interested in hearing how the movie made a difference for you. Your story could be used in a future article.
Please send your story to John Shaughnessy, assistant editor, in care of The Criterion, P. O. Box 1400, Indianapolis, IN 46206 or send him an e-mail at jshaughnessy@archindy.org. Please include a daytime phone number where you can be reached. †
(For more information about the film series, check the Web site at http://performingarts.nd.edu.) †