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| The Image of Divine Mercy |
A Review of Love and Mercy: Faustina by Nick Olszyk
MPAA Rating, Not
Rated at this time of this Review
USCCB Rating, Not Rated at this time of this Review
Reel Rating, Four
Reels
Although she probably
never envisioned it, Faustina Kowalska (Kamila Kaminska) is one of greatest
saints of the 20th century. This simple nun became the divine
instrument to bring the endless mercy of God to a century ravaged by countless
horrors. Love and Mercy: Faustina brilliantly uses the odd genre of
docudrama to bring this story to life. Despite its title, however, Faustina is
only part of the story. The protagonist is Jesus Himself, who uses numerous
people to bring about the image and feast of Divine Mercy.
From the time
Faustina was a young child, she felt a call to devote her life to God.
Beginning in her teenage years, she received visions of heavenly figures and
engaged in conversations with Jesus. After becoming a nun, Jesus asked her to
make a specific image of his Divine Mercy. Working with a secular artist and
her spiritual director Fr. Michal Sopocko (Maciej Malysa),
they create a painting of Jesus exposing his heart with two rays of light, one
red and one white. Despite asking Faustina to start a religious order devoted
to His mercy, she dies at only age 33. It will be up to Sopocko to carry on the
cause, though he too will have great difficulties. Today, the Church
universally celebrates the Feast of Divine Mercy the Sunday after Easter, and
Faustina was canonized in 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II, one of her greatest
advocates.
Docudrama is a difficult genre to pull
off successfully. It involves seamlessly splicing together both feature biographical
drama with contemporary documentary interviews. What makes Love and Mercy
unique is many events are recent enough to be remembered by the audience. I
myself met JPII once when I was 14, and he was close friends with Fr. Sopocko. This
gives the film a sense of immediacy without the distance of historical time. It
feels present and accessible, neither rushed nor lagging.
The first thought that came after
watching the film was how good it would be as an educational tool. From
beginning to end, it is jammed packed with compelling information without becoming
preachy. For example, the face of Jesus in the original Divine Mercy image
perfectly matches the features and proportions of Shroud of Turin. Everything
in the image has meaning from the directions of Jesus’ eyes to the void of the
background to the gestures of the hands. Like the Shroud and the Tilma of Our
Lady, it is both an icon of theological instruction and a miraculous witness to
God’s power.
It was also wise to make the film
centered on the concept of Divine Mercy rather than a straight biography. When Faustina
passes away, the film is not yet even halfway finished. The story of her
spiritual director and his struggles to promote the devotion are just as
compelling. Throughout all these experiences, the audience can see the intense
desire of God to bring His mercy to the world despite obstacles that come His
way. We are blest to have a God who continues in every generation to bring
private revelations as an assistance to our faith.
I’ve seen my lion’s share of poorly
constructed and ill-conceived religiously themed movies that are passed off as
acceptable only because they aren’t secular or morally offensive. Fortunately, contemporary
filmmakers have got the message that just being “religious” isn’t enough; the
quality must be excellent. From short one-man YouTube videos to large scale Hollywood
blockbusters, we are living in a golden age of Christian cinema, and the prize
isn’t Oscars or Emmys but the souls of world.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on October 26th, 2019
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