Molokai: The Story of Father Damien

Rating:
Summary: Makes you think.
Review: In a modern world where money and success are now the only goals for many people this reminds us of the story of a man who gave up everything, ultimately his life, simply to care for those who had leprosy. The worst thing about this disease is that those who have it are often cast out from their homes & families for whom the stigma is such that they would rather them have died. It was like this at the time of Fr Damien and in many parts of the world is still like this today. Don't forget to watch the Making of Molokai which is also on the DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Moving Drama about a Servant of God
Review: Molokai is the story of a priest, Father Damien, who chose to spend his life serving in a leper colony. The movie is a heroic story of great compassion and persistence in the face of physical hardship and isolation. Filmed on location on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai, the scenery is gorgeous, and it touches on the history and culture of Hawaii. I found the movie very, very moving, but some may find the conditions of the lepers too depressing to bear.

An Australian, David Wehan plays the role of Damien. Two other actors you may recognize are Kris Kristofferson and Peter O'Toole, who both play lepers. Peter O'Toole, who I never like previously, seems to have really enjoyed his role.

Molokai is one of the more remote Hawaiian Islands. During a leprosy epidemic in Hawaii during the mid-nineteenth century, the government established a peninsula on the island of Molokai as a leper colony. It was chosen because it was so difficult to get to or escape from.

In the movie, there is a scene where, instead of transferring the lepers to rowboats, the crew forced the lepers at gunpoint to jump overboard and swim to shore. These included women and children. In the actual historical incident, some people drowned, some died from injuries from being bashed against the rocks on the beach, and others died on shore of exhaustion. Although not shown in the movie, often, ships depositing lepers would tie a rope from the ship to land and the lepers had to climb hand-over-hand to shore.

Father Damien had grown up on a farm in Belgium. He was very strong physically and was an experienced carpenter and builder. Before going to Molokai, the historical Father Damien had been a parish priest and pastor in several parishes in the Hawaiian Islands. He learned to speak Hawaiian and understood native Hawaiian culture. In the opening sequence of the movie, Father Damien is shown helping some Hawaiians build a house. Bounty hunters arrive on horseback to take away suspected lepers. Villagers run and hide. The scene is reminiscent of the slave catchers in Roots. Historically, before going to Molokai, Damien experienced parishioners being taken away to the colony, and he had assisted people in avoiding the bounty hunters (not shown in the movie).
Father Damien volunteered to be assigned to Molokai. Damien's bishop instructed him to take all measures to avoid infection. In the movie, we see Damien simply ignoring the instructions. In historical fact, after two months on the island, he formally requested permission from the bishop to risk infection. He did this because it was the only way he could gain the lepers trust.

The leper colony was a living hell. When Damien arrived in 1873, there were six hundred lepers with inadequate housing and food, and no doctors, nurses, or medical supplies. Essentially, there was no law. Gangs of physically able lepers looted the belongings of the very sick. Prostitution and pedophilia were rampant. The bodies of the dead were either thrown into a ravine or buried very shallowly, where they were dug up and eaten by wild pigs. To be sure, with the arrival of Damien, there was a significant improvement in the lives of the lepers, but in the historical reality, the conditions and problems Damien faced were far worse than depicted in the movie.

Besides serving as priest, Damien's construction worker skills were invaluable. He built, supervised, or organized volunteer labor to build hundreds of buildings-over half the buildings in the settlement. When he arrived, there was no running water. He built a pipeline (In the movie, there is no pipeline). Damien cleaned and bandaged wounds and amputated gangrenous limbs. The son of a farmer, he taught the lepers to grow crops (not shown in the movie). He was the island's undertaker, funeral director, grave digger, and coffin maker-he built over 1,600 coffins. He also witnessed seven murders (not shown in the movie).

Besides having no resources to care for the sick, Damien had constant conflicts with both the government health authorities and his own religious order. In addition, he had many critics in the medical and clerical professions. The Hawaiian government's board of health didn't like him simply because he made them look bad. He alone was accomplishing orders of magnitude more for the lepers than the whole state government. His religious order was not able to provide any other permanent people to help, until near the end of his life. To their credit, they tried, but the only other people they could get to go to Molokai were misfits that were so bad, Damien sent them back. The order had other priests in Hawaii doing good work, and they didn't like Damien getting all the publicity.

Father Damien did not go to the leper colony just care for their bodies, although he did so tirelessly. He also went to save their souls. In the movie, it is very moving to see Damien administer the Sacraments. He buries lepers with half-bodies of rotting flesh, with all of the dignity and respect that one would expect to be given a member of high society in Paris or Rome. Actual historical witnesses on Molokai said that Damien said Mass every day with the utmost reverence and liturgical decorum in a tiny chapel filled with lepers bleeding and spitting, with Damien seemingly oblivious to an almost unbearable stench of rotting human flesh.

Since 1944, medicines have been developed that stop leprosy from being contagious and spreading within the body. The colony on Molokai was disbanded in 1969. At the time of the filming, there were forty-seven surviving patients from the settlement. Today, they are free to come and go as they please, although they all feel like outcasts shunned by society. A number appeared as extras in the movie. Today, Hawaiians consider Damien to be one of the great heroes of their state.

Rating:
Summary: Moving Drama about a Servant of God
Review: Molokai is the story of a priest, Father Damien, who chose to spend his life serving in a leper colony. The movie is a heroic story of great compassion and persistence in the face of physical hardship and isolation. Filmed on location on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai, the scenery is gorgeous, and it touches on the history and culture of Hawaii. I found the movie very, very moving, but some may find the conditions of the lepers too depressing to bear.

An Australian, David Wehan plays the role of Damien. Two other actors you may recognize are Kris Kristofferson and Peter O'Toole, who both play lepers. Peter O'Toole, who I never like previously, seems to have really enjoyed his role.

Molokai is one of the more remote Hawaiian Islands. During a leprosy epidemic in Hawaii during the mid-nineteenth century, the government established a peninsula on the island of Molokai as a leper colony. It was chosen because it was so difficult to get to or escape from.

In the movie, there is a scene where, instead of transferring the lepers to rowboats, the crew forced the lepers at gunpoint to jump overboard and swim to shore. These included women and children. In the actual historical incident, some people drowned, some died from injuries from being bashed against the rocks on the beach, and others died on shore of exhaustion. Although not shown in the movie, often, ships depositing lepers would tie a rope from the ship to land and the lepers had to climb hand-over-hand to shore.

Father Damien had grown up on a farm in Belgium. He was very strong physically and was an experienced carpenter and builder. Before going to Molokai, the historical Father Damien had been a parish priest and pastor in several parishes in the Hawaiian Islands. He learned to speak Hawaiian and understood native Hawaiian culture. In the opening sequence of the movie, Father Damien is shown helping some Hawaiians build a house. Bounty hunters arrive on horseback to take away suspected lepers. Villagers run and hide. The scene is reminiscent of the slave catchers in Roots. Historically, before going to Molokai, Damien experienced parishioners being taken away to the colony, and he had assisted people in avoiding the bounty hunters (not shown in the movie).
Father Damien volunteered to be assigned to Molokai. Damien's bishop instructed him to take all measures to avoid infection. In the movie, we see Damien simply ignoring the instructions. In historical fact, after two months on the island, he formally requested permission from the bishop to risk infection. He did this because it was the only way he could gain the lepers trust.

The leper colony was a living hell. When Damien arrived in 1873, there were six hundred lepers with inadequate housing and food, and no doctors, nurses, or medical supplies. Essentially, there was no law. Gangs of physically able lepers looted the belongings of the very sick. Prostitution and pedophilia were rampant. The bodies of the dead were either thrown into a ravine or buried very shallowly, where they were dug up and eaten by wild pigs. To be sure, with the arrival of Damien, there was a significant improvement in the lives of the lepers, but in the historical reality, the conditions and problems Damien faced were far worse than depicted in the movie.

Besides serving as priest, Damien's construction worker skills were invaluable. He built, supervised, or organized volunteer labor to build hundreds of buildings-over half the buildings in the settlement. When he arrived, there was no running water. He built a pipeline (In the movie, there is no pipeline). Damien cleaned and bandaged wounds and amputated gangrenous limbs. The son of a farmer, he taught the lepers to grow crops (not shown in the movie). He was the island's undertaker, funeral director, grave digger, and coffin maker-he built over 1,600 coffins. He also witnessed seven murders (not shown in the movie).

Besides having no resources to care for the sick, Damien had constant conflicts with both the government health authorities and his own religious order. In addition, he had many critics in the medical and clerical professions. The Hawaiian government's board of health didn't like him simply because he made them look bad. He alone was accomplishing orders of magnitude more for the lepers than the whole state government. His religious order was not able to provide any other permanent people to help, until near the end of his life. To their credit, they tried, but the only other people they could get to go to Molokai were misfits that were so bad, Damien sent them back. The order had other priests in Hawaii doing good work, and they didn't like Damien getting all the publicity.

Father Damien did not go to the leper colony just care for their bodies, although he did so tirelessly. He also went to save their souls. In the movie, it is very moving to see Damien administer the Sacraments. He buries lepers with half-bodies of rotting flesh, with all of the dignity and respect that one would expect to be given a member of high society in Paris or Rome. Actual historical witnesses on Molokai said that Damien said Mass every day with the utmost reverence and liturgical decorum in a tiny chapel filled with lepers bleeding and spitting, with Damien seemingly oblivious to an almost unbearable stench of rotting human flesh.

Since 1944, medicines have been developed that stop leprosy from being contagious and spreading within the body. The colony on Molokai was disbanded in 1969. At the time of the filming, there were forty-seven surviving patients from the settlement. Today, they are free to come and go as they please, although they all feel like outcasts shunned by society. A number appeared as extras in the movie. Today, Hawaiians consider Damien to be one of the great heroes of their state.

Rating:
Summary: The Heart of the Matter
Review: This is an excellent portrayal of what the heart of the Christian message is all about; self-sacrificing love and compassion. The acting is first class, the dialogue is vivid and the movie is captivating. It is down to earth but, will lift your spirit heavenward. It will hold your interest and inspire your life with a great Christian hero.

Rating:
Summary: The Heart of the Matter
Review: This is an excellent portrayal of what the heart of the Christian message is all about; self-sacrificing love and compassion. The acting is first class, the dialogue is vivid and the movie is captivating. It is down to earth but, will lift your spirit heavenward. It will hold your interest and inspire your life with a great Christian hero.

Rating:
Summary: The heart of the matter
Review: This is an excellent video that gets to the heart of the Christan life; self-sacrificing love and compassion. The acting is superb, the dialogue is incredibly vivid the and the believability of the characters in the story, make it the best testament of the joy and pain of living life fully in the midst of tremendous suffering. This movie is a great inspiration and a masterpeice.

Rating:
Summary: The heart of the matter
Review: This is an excellent video that gets to the heart of the Christan life; self-sacrificing love and compassion. The acting is superb, the dialogue is incredibly vivid the and the believability of the characters in the story, make it the best testament of the joy and pain of living life fully in the midst of tremendous suffering. This movie is a great inspiration and a masterpeice.

Rating:
Summary: An Epic of Stead-Fast Faith
Review: This is truly an epic gem. A film that not only chronicles a portion of Father Damien's life, but also captures his undying devotion to God. In a grand way, it is Father Damien's story of selflessly helping those people who were strickened with the terrible disease of leprosy. In it's quieter moments, it is a reflection of the lives who were touched by the kindness of one man and uplifted by his neverending faith in God.

The film is masterfully photographed by Nino Martinetti and poetically directed by Paul Cox. With a screenplay by John Briley (Oscar winner for Gandhi) and a brilliant cast featuring David Wenham, Kris Kristofferson, Peter O'toole, Aden Young, Sam Neil, Derek Jacobi, Kate Ceberano and the list goes on. Even the music is beautifully composed by Paul Grabowsky and Wim Mertens and features a wonderful symphonic score mixed with traditional Hawaiian chanting.

The DVD contains the film in letterbox format (2.35:1) and a wonderfully informative documentary showing the difficulties encountered in filming on location at Kalaupapa on the island of Moloka'i.

Rating:
Summary: An Epic of Stead-Fast Faith
Review: This is truly an epic gem. A film that not only chronicles a portion of Father Damien's life, but also captures his undying devotion to God. In a grand way, it is Father Damien's story of selflessly helping those people who were strickened with the terrible disease of leprosy. In it's quieter moments, it is a reflection of the lives who were touched by the kindness of one man and uplifted by his neverending faith in God.

The film is masterfully photographed by Nino Martinetti and poetically directed by Paul Cox. With a screenplay by John Briley (Oscar winner for Gandhi) and a brilliant cast featuring David Wenham, Kris Kristofferson, Peter O'toole, Aden Young, Sam Neil, Derek Jacobi, Kate Ceberano and the list goes on. Even the music is beautifully composed by Paul Grabowsky and Wim Mertens and features a wonderful symphonic score mixed with traditional Hawaiian chanting.

The DVD contains the film in letterbox format (2.35:1) and a wonderfully informative documentary showing the difficulties encountered in filming on location at Kalaupapa on the island of Moloka'i.

Rating:
Summary: Why aren't we all like this man?
Review: This movie......was wonderful. I know that it will never make its way up there with those classic historical films that we all have heard of (Shindlers List and the like) but there was something so moving about this man's story. The acting on all parts was excuisite, and the life that they were portraying brought me to tears. Father Damien was such an exemplary priest that we could all learn quite a deal from. He gave his life to save the lepers, and his story is wonderful. Though few are aware of this films greatness, and still fewer are aware of the man behind it, this will be one of my favorites for years to come. I was truly touched by this movie.