MOVIE REVIEW
NO W PL AYING:
MISSIONARIES AND MERCY
J OE PELLETIER is a video producer with the Archdiocese of Detroit and a perennial student of film and filmmaking.
IT IS NO GREAT REVELATION THAT THE WORK OF EVANGELIZATION AND THE WORK OF MERCY ARE INDISPENSABLE TO EACH OTHER. While one might remain more hidden
“A HIDDEN LIFE,” 2019, ELIZABETH BAY PRODUCTIONS
within the other, they remain mutually dependent. In any good Christian effort to show mercy to others, we are, by default, evangelistic. And what good is evangelization if it does not draw from the wellspring of God’s mercy? For this edition, we have selected five films that highlight great evangelizers. Some of the witnesses are bold in their engagement; others act as silent conduits of God’s grace. But this variety should help to give us a taste of the innumerable ways in which we ourselves might be called to engage in evangelization, demonstrate the mercy of God to others and serve as effective channels for his grace.
30
A R C HDIOCE SE OF DET ROI T
A HIDDEN LIFE 2019 • Starring August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Matthias Schoenaerts • Directed by Terrence Malick As the title suggests, the life, witness and martyrdom of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter were nearly lost to history. In life, he was known only to those who also lived and farmed in the small, Edenic village of Sankt Radegund in Austria; in death, he was quickly and gladly forgotten by his village for his refusal to capitulate to the spirit of the Third Reich. His resistance to the Nazi effort, friend and foe alike were quick to remind him, would not change a thing except to leave his children fatherless and his wife without her spouse. The war would march on, unaffected by his decision. Until the moment of his death, this assumption haunts Franz. What sort of witness is he giving? Is it worth it for him, and his family, to pay such a heavy cost when, as he might reasonably assume, his witness to the truth will be ignored even by those within his sphere of influence? And yet, nearly 80 years after his execution and martyrdom, the witness of Blessed Franz is realized with this hauntingly beautiful film. While his own witness no longer remains “hidden,” as it were, it points our minds to the innumerable holy men and women over the centuries “who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs” and whose unsung witness is so greatly responsible for the “growing good of the world.” Runtime: 2hr 54min Recommended ages: Teens and up
