Our family watched the film “Fatima” recently and I, for one, was very impressed with it. Maybe it was because of all the negative things I’d heard about the movie. Or maybe it was something else.
It was true, as many have said, that the movie minimized that the gravity of the Blessed Mother’s message, the true nature of the miracle of the sun and the cruelties the children endured. In my estimation, it is also true that this does weaken the film.
But in most other ways, the story was very true to the actual events. The acting, particularly on the part of the young visionaries, was wonderful. The three visions were portrayed in a fairly accurate way. And the representation of the Blessed Mother was handled well, in my opinion.
I’m not sure why the producers decided to play down certain aspects of the apparitions but the end result was a movie that anyone (Catholic or non-Catholic) of any age could enjoy. To me, this was no small thing.
I was wary of choosing “Fatima” for our weekly family movie matinee because I was worried that it would be too religious for some. But this was not the case. Everyone liked it.
The movie could have been more powerful, yes. But it touched me anyway. I cried at the end and after it was over, I resolved to learn more about Our Lady of Fatima.
And I have been.
To me, this is a good result. Good enough to make me think that it wasn’t so much the film that moved me, as it was the Our Lady herself.
Either way, I’m going to share a bit about what I’m learning in future posts!
Here is the trailer:
