Movie Review: Pope John Paul II

Date: 2005

Director: John Kent Harrison

John Paul II, an inspiring film starring Jon Voight and Cary Elwes, chronicles the life of the late Holy Father and his amazing journey from his struggles as a young adult and priest in Communist Poland to his astoundingly influential papacy.  While many Catholic movies that portray the lives of the saints tend to be of rather poor quality, John Paul II features tremendous acting talent, an excellent script, and a timeless story that will inspire generations to come.

Viewers who are unfamiliar with the life of John Paul II will be surprised to learn that the many struggles John Paul II endured in life served to advance his knowledge of God.  For example, his work in a quarry helped him come to an understanding about the ultimate purposes of work, that work is primarily a means by which a person finds his or her salvation.   When confronted with the malice of Communism, which he described as an “abyss of evil”, he decided that his best response could only be an “abyss of love”.  Thus, it was through the evils of Communism that John Paul II felt called to become a priest.  Once a priest, John Paul II spent much time with young people, and came to develop his theology of the body, or his understanding that sexuality is a reflection of the divine Trinity.  The teachings of John Paul II become much clearer upon learning the key events that comprise his life.

John Paul II is an excellent movie that depicts the journey of a man who, in attempting to follow God’s will and humanity’s universal call to love, becomes one of the most influential popes in history.  Jon Voight inarguably deserves his Emmy nomination for his powerful portrayal of one of the most inspiring individuals of our generation.  

Looking for...a Clean Court Romance

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

On his deathbed, Meliara’s father exhorts a promise that she and her brother will raise an army against the tyrant king and claim their right to the throne.  With little men and fewer resources, the two declare their intent to the country, hoping that others will rally to the cause.  As complicated as war proves, however, nothing can prepare Meliara for the resulting peace.  At court intrigue and treachery hold sway, and Mel does not know whom she can trust.  Her worst enemy, however, may not be anyone at court, but her own reluctance to face her past and admit her mistakes.

The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

Sinda grew up believing that herself the princess and the sole heir to the crown.  On her sixteenth birthday, however, she learns that the king and queen substituted her for their newborn daughter in hopes of diverting a prophecy that foretold the death of the true princess.  Now that the time for the prophecy to be fulfilled has run out, Sinda finds herself cast out of court and into the hard life of a peasant.  Angry and confused, Sinda has to decide who she is and what she really wants from life if she ever wants to find peace. 

Movie Review: The Diary of Imaculée

Date: 2006

Director: Peter LeDonne

Summary: In April of 1994, the president of Rwanda died when his plane was shot down in Kigali.  His tiny country – already suffering from built-up political and ethnic tension – immediately descended into civil war characterized by the genocide of 800,000 people.  In the small second bathroom of a sympathetic pastor, eight women hid for three months.  One of those women, twenty-four-year old Immaculée Ilibagiza, knew that many of her friends and most of her family were dying.  But she fought to hold on to her faith in God and in her own future, and lived to share her story with those who were willing to listen.

Review: Immaculée’s story is a powerful one.  While the violence of the genocide is horrifying, the world’s response to it sobering, and the young woman’s survival nothing short of miraculous, the most remarkable part of this tale is the faith Immaculée held on to as the world fell apart around her.  In the midst of fear and anger, she was heroically steadfast in her trust in God’s protection and eventually found the forgiveness she knew she would need to have a chance at peace after the violence.

The Diary of Immaculée is not the only medium Immaculée Ilibagiza has used to tell the story of the Rwandan genocide.  She – with the help of author Steve Erwin – has also written the 2006 memoir Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.  And, in this reviewer’s opinion, you should read the book first.

The book tells the narrative of the Rwandan genocide in a way that can make sense to a reader who has no knowledge of that history, and it tells the narrative of Immaculée’s part in that story.  It describes her family and her friends and traces her spiritual struggle and growth as she fights to survive not just physically, but also emotionally and spiritually, as the violence escalates in the world outside her bathroom.  The film – a short 38-minute documentary – is a good companion to the book.  It shows the beautiful landscape of Rwanda, offers photographs of and interviews with the people described in the book, and traces Immaculée’s footsteps as she goes home to visit the sites of fond memories and nightmares.  But is does not have the same depth as the book, especially in terms of Immaculée’s spiritual journey, and the information conveyed is sometimes out of order and a little difficult to follow.  The film is powerful in its own right – because the images are moving and Immaculée’s voice makes her story more personal – but it is a film that is much more meaningful with its book companion than without it.

Content Reviews: YA Witches

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Goodreads: Born Wicked

Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1

Publication Date: Feb. 7, 2012

Source: Library

Summary:

As witches, Cate Cahill and her two younger sisters have always been in danger.  Witchcraft is feared in New England, and the Brotherhood is always looking for an excuse to haul women away to Harwood Asylum or to some mysterious fate.  But when Cate finds their mother’s diary, which talks about a prophecy of three sisters with powers, she learns they may be in more peril than she had dreamed, not only from the Brotherhood, but from others willing to use their talents for their own ends, and even from each other.

Conclusions:

Obviously, there is witchcraft in this book.  The Brotherhood, who are the men in charge of government on every level, teach in the Sunday schools that witchcraft is bad, a gift from the devil.  The Brotherhood, however, are the obvious villains in the story, cruel men who oppress women and spy on everyone in their eagerness to condemn the sins of others.  Their opinions are generally meant to be discounted by the reader.

Witches, it seems, can be either good or bad, depending on how they use their power.  The protagonists, clearly, are good ones.  Cate does not particularly like her own magic, having inherited from her mother the thought that it is a curse that mainly puts her and her sisters in danger.  Her sisters use their magic mostly to amuse themselves or to retaliate in minor ways against the other sisters when they are angry.  No one is doing terribly wicked things here.

The theme that women are being oppressed and are expected to act like silly, frivolous dolls runs strong throughout the book.  Cate and her sisters are somewhat exceptionally educated for their society and like to flout other societal roles.  Cate often mentions, in conjunction with the Brotherhood’s hatred of witches, that they punish lesbians equally as harshly.  She is in favor of homosexual couples, and one such couple forms and kisses during the story.

The romance between Cate and her suitors is kept to kissing.

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Goodreads: Chime

Series:  none

Publication Date: March 17, 2011

Source: Library

Summary: 

Briony has always known she is wicked.  Her stepmother told her to hide her powers and to never use them or tell anyone else.  But now her stepmother is dead, and a handsome young men has come to board at her house instead.  And he seems to think that Briony is not wicked at all.

Conclusions:

Unlike in Born Wicked, the witchcraft in Chime appears to be unanimously frowned upon.  Briony despises her own witchy powers and the terrible things she believes she has done with them when she became overly jealous or angry and lost control.  She spends the majority of the book attempting to suppress her witchcraft and reminding herself what a horrible person she is, so she will not be inspired to use it again.  This self-hatred is at times excessive, although the reader can see the differences between Briony’s own thoughts and the reality of the situation.

All the other witches introduced in the book are evil.  The Old Ones, who seem to be things like river spirits that are more powerful than witches and older than them, can be either dangerous or harmless, depending on their own personalities.  They are part of the nature of the area, and their assumed extinction in the future, as technology takes over, is mourned even though the area will become much safer for travelers.  As it is, anyone who enters the swamp must carry a paper with a Scripture verse in order to defend against death or worse.

The romance in the story is clean.  Briony is the daughter of a pastor, who adheres by his rules even if she sometimes dreams of being as free as other young people, and Eldric, the love interest, likes to be chivalrous.

Awakening by Claudia Cangilla McAdam

Goodreads: Awakening

Series: None

Published: 2009

Source: Borrowed

Summary: Ronni does not understand why Jesus had to die for her.  Rather than attend Mass or even celebrate the Triduum with her mother, she would prefer to spend time with her friend Tabby.  Thus, when she awakes to find that she has travelled back in time to the last days of Jesus, she forms a plan to save her Savior.  As she watches and learns from Jesus, however, she begins to realize that the best thing she can do might be to leave history unaltered.

Review: McAdam makes history come to life as she cleverly inserts tidbits from the Bible into her story, down to an explanation of the naked young man in the Garden of Gethsemane.   Readers will feel as if they have truly travelled back in time with Ronni and they, like her, will want to take this opportunity to watch and learn from Jesus.  The book is history lesson, theology lesson, meditation, and a Bible trivia scavenger hunt all in one.

The author does not hide her intention to teach with this story and older readers especially may find that the didactic purpose has a tendency to interrupt the plot.  The action, however, never flags, even when the audience can discern the not so subtle messages behind it.  In fact, so much adventure and excitement occurs that it sometimes defies the suspension of disbelief.  The question arises: would a proper Jewish young woman and her friend really so flagrantly disobey all the laws?  Not only the religious ones that they feel Jesus has replaced with the new covenant, but also the legal ones?  Readers will understand that twenty-first century Catholic Ronni does not hold much with the laws of uncleanliness, but when she convinces a friend to attempt to jail-break Jesus, it all suddenly becomes too much.

If readers can accept that Ronni’s first-century friends all conveniently hold her twenty-first century values, the plot proves engrossing.  Ronni is a sympathetic teenage character with whom readers can relate even when they recognize that she often behaves foolishly.  She has real concerns not only about her crush who lives next door, but also about the meaning of life and the reason for suffering.  Her interactions with Jesus thus touch readers on an emotional level: He is not only answering Ronni’s concerns, but also speaking to them.  McAdam makes Jesus come alive, makes Him seem like a real person really concerned with each individual.  That is the true triumph of her storytelling.

Awakening skillfully uses an entertaining story to teach about the Crucifixion and to encourage readers to commit to a more personal relationship with Jesus.  It combines deep philosophical questions with a fun and funny plot and, if the answers are not as deep as one might have wished, it is helpful to remember that the story is geared toward younger readers, preferably those in their tweens.  One envisions this book mostly used for homeschooling or other educational purposes.

Cascade by Lisa Bergren

Goodreads: Cascade

Series: River of Time #2

Publication Date: June 1, 2011

Source: Borrowed from a friend

Summary: Gabi and her sister Lia return to the fourteenth century, this time with their mother, in order to help defend the castle and the people they have come to love.

Review: Cascade follows very much in the footsteps of Waterfall, in terms of both plot and style.  Bergren continues to have Gabi think in a hilarious form of what she clearly believes to be modern “teen-speak,” which can be annoying unless the reader decides there is nothing left to do but take it in stride and laugh.  The strange “medieval-speak” is back, as well, with an overabundance of “nays.”  This time, the major discrepancy is that Gabi claims the medieval language is natural to her, but the consistent use of modern idioms in her thoughts suggest that she must be putting a real effort into “translating” her speech.

As usual, however, the language is just one of many things readers will have to accept if they wish to enjoy the plot.  The time portal follows no more logic than it did in Waterfall, and Gabi essentially explains it away by saying that it just does not make any scientific sense and that is all there is to it.  At the end of the book, she and her family make a major alternation in time that should have drastic effects by anyone’s standards of time travel.  It never does.  Time travel operates mainly as a convenient way to get Gabi and her sister to meet some attractive medieval Italian guys in these books and is clearly not bound by any reason.

And yes, the attractive Italian guys are back, and once again are the focus of the book.  The pattern of Waterfall continues.  Gabi gets captured and then Gabi gets rescued by the handsome Marcello.  She has all obscure talents necessary to help her survive, with her knowledge of astronomy being the newest introduced.  For a change in the pattern, however, Gabi occasionally shows some good sense and does what Marcello suggests she do, instead of charging into battle and thinking she can singly wipe out the entire enemy with her sword.  Overall, the plot if rather exciting, and anyone who liked Waterfall will enjoy Cascade just as much, or perhaps even more since all the introductory bits have happened already, and readers are left with pure action and romance.

Gabi’s relationship with God does not develop as quickly as her relationship with Marcello, however, and Cascade, like Waterfall, is a Christian book mainly in that Gabi thinks about God once in awhile and the romance sticks to pretty words, kissing, and hugs.  Gabi now prays a little more often, apparently out of desperation because her life in constantly in danger, and she has moved on from thinking He has a purpose for putting her in medieval Italy to being convinced simply that He must want her alive for something since she has not died yet.  Perhaps in the third book her faith will strengthen.  She will definitely have a rough time if she chooses to remain in medieval Italy without a conviction that God plays an important role in her life.

Cascade does has its flaws, but the characters are endearing and there is always something happening to keep readers entranced or in fear for Gabi’s life.  The romance is beautiful, and occasionally Gabi throws out some philosophical thoughts that are beautiful, as well.  The series remains a good choice for those who like romance and a medieval world that is surprisingly realistic in the fiction genre, even when mixed with all of Gabi’s notions that women are equal to men.

The Scarlet and the Black by J. P. Gallagher

Goodreads: The Scarlet and the Black
Series: None

Publication Date: 1967 (as Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican), 2009

Source: Purchased

Summary:  During World War II, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, an Irish priest stationed in Rome, earned the flattering nickname “Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican.”  Aided by a secret network of priests, seminarians, military POWs, and lay civilians, O’Flaherty helped countless POWs and refugees who sought sanctuary in and around neutral Vatican territory.  This non-fiction account of O’Flaherty’s story was written by a journalist who met the monsignor and several of his acquaintances.

Review: For the first few chapters, Gallagher’s book feels a bit like required reading for a college course. It is a quality work that is both true and important, but somehow feels more like something you should read than something you want to.  Eventually, however, some of the book’s numerous characters become familiar, the dangerous reality of the setting becomes more present, and the stolen moments of humor at the enemy’s expense are marked with a quick laugh and a guarded smile, betraying fear that next time the heroes might not be so lucky.

One of the most powerful aspects of the book, highlighted especially at the end, is O’Flaherty’s indiscriminate compassion.  Though he was very anti-English in his youth, he later put himself at great risk to protect the escaped Allied POWs.  Even later, he became a friend to the war-time enemies who wanted him dead and was the only person who would visit one particular man in prison.  Along with O’Flaherty’s kindness, the book portrays the courage of the men and women in the monsignor’s secret network.  Whole families offered their homes, their money, their time, and the possibility of their lives for the sake of assisting whatever individuals came to O’Flaherty for aid.  The cunning and creativity of these people, along with their bravery, is truly inspiring.

This book tells a fascinating story, but it only tells a part of it.  For example, the back cover notes the large number of Jews who were saved through O’Flaherty’s efforts.  The work seldom mentions Jews, however, and tends to focus on British and American POWs.  Gallagher’s work is a solid introduction to a powerful piece of history.  This reader definitely intends to learn more of the story.