Get an intimate look into the lives of saints with these 9 motion pictures accessible on-line totally free
I’ve been binge-watching “Severance” and “The White Lotus” these previous few weeks. And whereas the 2 sequence are exhausting to look away from, critically acclaimed, and full of biting, thought-provoking commentary, they all the time go away me a bit perturbed. So, within the spirit of one thing extra grounding, I’ve turned to Holy Week motion pictures—particularly, free saint movies which were making the rounds on the tita Viber circuit.
The movies are all simply accessible and free on YouTube. That is possible as a result of the distribution rights have lapsed and entered the general public area, which tends to occur with older movies.
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Whereas a few of them bear the aesthetic of a unique period, usually with a grainy movie or in black and white, the movies inform highly effective tales which might be reverent in tone, which could be surprisingly transformative.
From luminous Oscar-winning movies to gentle motion pictures for the household, these Holy Week motion pictures supply a sort of ethical readability that’s exhausting to come back by as of late.
1. “Joan of Arc” (1999)
Some might keep in mind Leelee Sobieski in “Eyes Huge Shut.” For this 1999 movie, she takes a very totally different, virtuous flip, donning chainmail because the reverent St. Joan of Arc.
An undoubtedly epic movie brimming with scenes of conflict, visions, trial, and eventual martyrdom, St. Joan of Arc was a French peasant woman who led the French military to victory towards the English through the Hundred Years’ Struggle. Regardless of this, St. Joan was captured and burned on the stake.
The transferring epic would possibly attraction to those that are followers of “Sport of Thrones” in your family.
2. “The Reluctant Saint” (1962)
A private favourite, “The Reluctant Saint” follows the lifetime of St. Joseph (Giuseppe, as he’s known as in his Italian identify) of Cupertino. These accustomed to the Cupertino Middle for Particular Youngsters in Quezon Metropolis, a faculty for kids with particular wants, could also be accustomed to him.
Oscar-winner Maximilian Schell performs the simple-minded friar. Schell charms together with his portrayal of full innocence and a pure, mild coronary heart. Audiences will smile because the saint is thrust into the priesthood by divine intervention, when he solely desires to remain within the stables to care for the lambs.
Spoiler: The saint was additionally mentioned to have levitated and flown about 70 occasions in his lifetime. Because the patron saint of aviation, the mentally disabled, and test-takers, the film watches with a lot coronary heart, humor, and classes of humility, exhibiting how divine grace can work to bless the underdogs that society usually seems down on.
3. “St. Paul” (2000)
Followers of the e-book of Corinthians can study extra concerning the lifetime of Saint Paul the Apostle—as soon as a fierce persecutor of Christians, struck blind on the street to Damascus, solely to endure a revelatory transformation, as he change into one in every of historical past’s most tireless missionaries and a author of Scripture that modified the world.
What number of have been moved by his writings, notably, “Love is affected person, love is form. It doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it’s not proud. It isn’t impolite, it’s not self-seeking, it’s not simply angered, it retains no report of wrongs.”
At three hours lengthy, this portrayal of Saint Paul is apt for affected person devotees searching for an immersive biblical epic as their Holy Week film.
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4. “The Track of Bernadette” (1943)
A luminous black-and-white traditional, Jennifer Jones performs Bernadette with such candy, mild conviction that even the skeptics in your family would possibly fall quiet.
This Oscar-winning movie tells the story of younger Bernadette Soubirous and her visions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France. Jones delivers a radiant efficiency that earned her the Academy Award for Finest Actress. Its emotional depth and cinematic magnificence make it one of many best Catholic movies of all time.
It’s poetic and reverent with out being saccharine, setting the gold customary for movies on the saint—a must-see on your Holy Week film watchlist.
5. “The Miracle of Our Girl of Fatima” (1952)
A staple for a lot of Catholic households, I keep in mind watching this Holy Week film as a baby a few years in the past, and being blown away by the Miracle of the Solar.
Set in early twentieth century Portugal, the traditional recounts the story of Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco and the Marian apparitions they witnessed. Within the apparitions proven to the three kids, the Virgin Mary promised a miracle. This culminated within the Miracle of the Solar, which was witnessed by a beforehand unbelieving crowd of 70,000 individuals. The photo voltaic phenomenon was legendary and out of this world, because the solar appeared to bounce, shift positions within the sky, and change into all manners of colours, making the unbelievers imagine.
6. “Miracle of St. Thérèse” (1952)
One among my favourite saints is the candy St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Often called the Saint of the Little Methods, she was identified for doing little issues in life with wholehearted love, humility, and ease, as a method to holiness.
Many miracles resembling cures to deadly ailments have been attributed to the saint, and after her loss of life, there are testimonies that roses started to rain from the sky. Thus her nickname was “The Little Flower.”
Whereas the black and white copy of the film is slightly shaky, the movie itself can really feel like flipping the pages of a well-worn prayer e-book—slightly exhausting to learn however full of a honest and comforting power.
7. “Molokai: The Story of Father Damien” (1999)
Everybody loves a seaside film. And whereas not precisely a carefree seaside movie, this Holy Week film follows the inspiring story of Saint Damien of Molokai, a Belgian priest who selflessly cared for individuals dwelling with leprosy within the Kalaupapa colony in Hawaii.
The movie is definitely fairly heartbreaking, because it doesn’t draw back from the brutality of struggling but one way or the other leaves you feeling uplifted.
We see the lepers who Saint Damien served, which ultimately led to his personal martyrdom. The movie is deeply human, and transferring with its stunning performing and wealthy visuals of Hawaii.
8. “Father Rupert Mayer” (2014)
Struggle motion pictures are usually not for me, however for many who do like conflict movies, “Father Rupert Mayer” is one highly effective selection that’s applicable for the Holy Week. The German Jesuit priest is understood for his fearless opposition to the Nazi regime throughout World Struggle II.
A former soldier and later priest, we see that regardless of being Christian, he spoke out vehemently towards the persecution of the Jews, and all that Nazi ideology entailed.
The movie additionally portrays his sufferings within the Dachau focus camp. It’s a movie that paperwork a logo of hope and lightweight throughout one of many darkest occasions in trendy historical past.
9. “The Miracle of Marcelino” (1955)
This film is gorgeous. Its foremost character is the little orphan boy Marcelino, and is a type of movies that quietly tugs at your heartstrings in the easiest way. We see the harmless, earnest, and completely lovely Marcelino, who’s taken in by a gaggle of monks in a Spanish monastery.
The curious, kind-hearted boy embodies childlike religion. And we see the miracles unfold in a method that looks like a hug that may heat your coronary heart and make you croon “Awww,” again and again.
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I used to be by no means actually a non secular particular person, at the least, not in a method that felt deeply private, till I watched “The Chosen,” a free Christian sequence on YouTube. For the primary time, I felt like I might really grasp the lifetime of Jesus and the teachings of Christianity as a result of they have been made extra tangible and straightforward to visualise via the tv.
So if seeing is believing, an audiovisual illustration is a good way to strengthen these beliefs. As Holy Week approaches, these motion pictures are an attractive option to strengthen religion, whether or not you’re introducing younger members of the family to the lives of the saints or hoping to deepen your individual non secular reflection.