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Therese: A Movie Review

I SAW THÉRÈSE

By Anthony Ryan
Director of Marketing
Ignatius Press

Recently my wife, Marcia, our 12-year-old son, Sean, and I had the
opportunity to attend a private screening of Luke Films’ new motion
picture, THÉRÈSE, at Sony Studios in Los Angeles. We were part of a
mixed crowd of laity, priests and religious. After a brief introduction
by director Leonardo Defilippis, the film began.

I tried to approach this film objectively, and as one who knew little
about Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (even though I have read and helped
publish many books about her). I thought, “How can you tell the story of
someone's inner life, the ‘story of a soul’, in a film?” It’s a daunting
challenge for a filmmaker, to say the least. But that is indeed what the
story of "the greatest saint of modern times" is about, as her own
autobiography reveals; no grand drama, such as one often encounters in
the lives of great saints. But, after all, sanctity is a spiritual
reality. It’s not so much what we do, it’s how, and with what kind of
love, we do it. This is, in essence, the heart of "the little way" of
Thérèse. But to portray that spiritual reality in a captivating,
inspiring, realistic way has not been achieved in any of the previous
film attempts on the life of Saint Thérèse. No wonder.

Until now. From the very start of this beautiful film, lovingly made,
and produced with unsparing effort to the highest industry standards in
every department, Luke Films has pulled off a tremendous cinematic
achievement - one that very few filmmakers would even attempt, or come
close to attaining. The biggest reason Defilippis succeeds in capturing
on film this "inner story" of a great modern saint is because he
understands the subject well and tells her story with a spiritual, yet
profoundly human approach. This understanding is what he gives to the
audience, bringing to life the wonder, inspiration and powerful message
of THÉRÈSE.

Thérèse is a saint for all of us, one we all can relate to, and imitate,
in her love of God and neighbor in the ordinary events of life. We found
her to be portrayed exactly that way in this film – like us, but filled
with extraordinary love. Lindsay Younce gives a wonderful, convincing
performance, and all the others in the film are excellent, especially a
man who is, in my opinion, one of the great actors of our time, Leonardo
Defilippis, who so movingly plays the father of Thérèse, Louis Martin.

The cinematography is outstanding and has a strong period-piece feel. It
comes off almost like a Monet artwork at times. The costumes, props and
sets are superb, down to the smallest details. And, most importantly,
the musical score is exquisite and deeply inspiring. Numerous touching
moments in Thérèse's life are told in such a moving way that at the end
of the movie, much of the audience was in tears.

My wife said it well when she remarked "This film makes you feel like
you are pulling back the veil and peering into the life of a soul, that
very mysterious life of one's relationship to God. It reveals the
complete trust this woman had in God's love for her, even in the midst
of tremendous suffering and spiritual darkness." Marcia finished by
saying, “The portrayal is so natural and unpretentious, I think it
perfectly captures the story and spiritual message of Thérèse."

I would agree with her. And that is a major accomplishment on film.
Thus, I am convinced that THÉRÈSE, a film about such an incredibly
popular and important contemporary saint, has the power to help renew
the life of the Church in America. It fills a huge need in our culture
and our Church. It will help Catholics especially, to renew their
understanding of what it means to be a Catholic. And what it means to be
a Catholic family, as so well shown in the love, joy and closeness of
the Martin family in this film. And it reminds all of us of the crucial
importance of focusing on our daily, ongoing conversion and deeper union
with Jesus.

I will do my part, and I hope many, many others will join us, in helping
spread strong support for this outstanding film so that it may receive a
nationwide theatrical release. If that happens, you can indeed count on
that "shower of roses" Saint Thérèse promised to continue to fall upon
countless souls who she will inspire in this film to love Jesus with
great love and confidence. Please make every effort to help this happen.

You can join Tony in supporting the release of THÉRÈSE by forwarding
this letter to all your contacts, and by telling them to visit
www.theresemovie.com. Luke Films really
needs your financial support to bring THÉRÈSE to movie theaters this
October 2004! To make a contribution online please visit
www.stlukeproductions.com and click
on the ‘Donate Online’ link or call us at 1-(800)-683-2998.