Molokai: The Story of Father Damien

Rating:
Summary: A sleeper that will remain in my top 10
Review: When I ordered this DVD I knew a bit about the life of Fr. Damien but nothing about the film. I expected it to be "pleasant fare" but not much better. What a surprise! Molokai is as near to being a perfect film as could ever be made. It is an interesting and inspiring story that is told without any of the over-sentimentality one might expect from a "religious" film. The screenplay is wonderful - absolutely believable and natural dialoge delivered flawlessly. The cinematography is breathtaking and the soundtrack is, well, I'm going to track it down to buy it - a first for me. So much for the technical stuff. Fr. Damien was an extraordinary individual and an ideal priest. The film portrays this with great respect as it does with the Catholic Church in general - another rarity these days! There are at least a dozen scenes that stand out as illustrations of true virtue in practice and from which we can draw inspiration to improve our own characters. This is a beautiful film in every sense and will remain in my top 10 list of all time great movies.

Rating:
Summary: A sleeper that will remain in my top 10
Review: When I ordered this DVD I knew a bit about the life of Fr. Damien but nothing about the film. I expected it to be "pleasant fare" but not much better. What a surprise! Molokai is as near to being a perfect film as could ever be made. It is an interesting and inspiring story that is told without any of the over-sentimentality one might expect from a "religious" film. The screenplay is wonderful - absolutely believable and natural dialoge delivered flawlessly. The cinematography is breathtaking and the soundtrack is, well, I'm going to track it down to buy it - a first for me. So much for the technical stuff. Fr. Damien was an extraordinary individual and an ideal priest. The film portrays this with great respect as it does with the Catholic Church in general - another rarity these days! There are at least a dozen scenes that stand out as illustrations of true virtue in practice and from which we can draw inspiration to improve our own characters. This is a beautiful film in every sense and will remain in my top 10 list of all time great movies.

Rating:
Summary: A sleeper that will remain in my top 10
Review: When I ordered this DVD I knew a bit about the life of Fr. Damien but nothing about the film. I expected it to be "pleasant fare" but not much better. What a surprise! Molokai is as near to being a perfect film as could ever be made. It is an interesting and inspiring story that is told without any of the over-sentimentality one might expect from a "religious" film. The screenplay is wonderful - absolutely believable and natural dialoge delivered flawlessly. The cinematography is breathtaking and the soundtrack is, well, I'm going to track it down to buy it - a first for me. So much for the technical stuff. Fr. Damien was an extraordinary individual and an ideal priest. The film portrays this with great respect as it does with the Catholic Church in general - another rarity these days! There are at least a dozen scenes that stand out as illustrations of true virtue in practice and from which we can draw inspiration to improve our own characters. This is a beautiful film in every sense and will remain in my top 10 list of all time great movies.