Movies

The two men bonded over this common goal — and, in the end, they triumphed, having exerted significant influence in such victories as the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of the Cold War.

Tragedy can test our faith. The question of why bad things happen to good people has haunted humanity from the start. When misfortune befalls people we perceive as evil, it’s easy to suppose it’s a matter of divine justice. But what about the virtuous and the innocent?

A Hidden Life tells the story of this brave man who held to his sacred principles even when much of the populace of Austria — including its clergy — capitulated in fear to the Nazi annexation of their country. Even his wife, mother, and parish priest initially wished he would somehow accommodate the call to fight.

The familiar story of the 1917 appearances of the Virgin Mary to three young shepherd children in Portugal receives a beautiful big-screen treatment in the new 2020 drama Fatima, scheduled for release to theaters everywhere on April 24.

The new docudrama Faustina: Love and Mercy provides a window into the brief life and work of St. Faustina, whom Pope St. John Paul II canonized in 2000 as the “first saint of the new millennium.

A new documentary film releasing in March, I Am Patrick, relates the true story of this great fifth-century “Apostle to Ireland” as told by Patrick himself in his Confessions and his Epistle to Coroticus. Through expert interviews, narrative voice-overs, and dramatic re-enactments, his amazing life unfolds and the authentic Patrick emerges.

When people used to write Mother Teresa of their desire to join in her work among the destitute of India, she would often respond: “Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta.”

Single mom rose and her seven-year-old daughter Katy don’t have it easy. They sleep in a junkyard vehicle, tidy up in a diner restroom, and face a future as bleak as it is uncertain. And little Katy has never had a Christmas present.

Change is a fact of life, but we would more easily weather inevitable challenges and transitions if they would line up politely and come at us one at a time. Unfortunately, that’s not always how it works. Sometimes multiple challenges hit concurrently, and in attempting to cope with them all we are pushed to our limits or beyond.

JAMES ALLEN’S 1903 collection of essays, As a Man Thinketh, exhorts readers to take control of their lives through positive thinking and tireless focus on ideals and purpose. It’s why Allen is rightly counted among the pioneers of the modern self-help movement.

Overcomer, opened in theaters Aug. 23, is about conquering life’s obstacles. Yet often the greatest roadblocks are not those externally, but those within, because individual ability to confront challenges depends heavily upon one’s sense of identity.

During World War II, following the rapid collapse of Poland, tens of thousands of Polish servicemen went to France to continue fighting for Allied forces. After France capitulated in 1940, the Poles battled on in England. There, more than 8,000 Polish air personnel would serve with the Royal Air Force, many in special Polish squadrons

In his new documentary, Kingdom Men Rising, he calls upon men to stop being “lame,” rise up, be men of Christ, and fulfill their God-given responsibilities as husbands, fathers, and living examples to others.

Faced with insurmountable odds in the midst of a crisis, many people lose hope and give in to despair. Not Joyce Smith, whose adolescent son, John, suffered a near-drowning accident.

Abby Johnson went from volunteer escort to clinic director during her meteoric rise through the Planned Parenthood hierarchy.

The 100th anniversary of the end of World War I has focused attention upon the courageous heroes of that tragic conflict. Among these we can count Father Willie Doyle, an Irish Jesuit and British army chaplain who was killed in Belgium during the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917.

Throughout history, courageous soldiers have taken up arms on frontlines in the name of freedom. Some have given all.

Faith-based films often are plagued by low budgets, weak scripts, mediocre acting, and inferior production values, but some deserve praise for having largely overcome these deficiencies. And some are actually rather good.