Fatima

Greetings again from the darkness. I'm not Catholic and did not grow up learning much about Catholicism. However, I have heard the story of Fatima, Portugal and the 3 young shepherds who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary. Writer-Director Marco Pontecorvo and co-writers Valerio D'Annunzio and Barbara Nicolosi deliver a dutiful re-telling of the events that led up to the Miracle of the Sun.

The movie begins in 1989 as Professor Nicols (Harvey Keitel) visits Sister Lucia (Sonia Braga), now an octogenarian, at her nunnery. The professor is quite the skeptic, but it's crucial to his new book project that he question the Sister about what she experienced in 1917. We then flash back to that era when 10 year old Lucia (Stephanie Gil) and her cousins, 7 year old Jacinto (Alejandra Howard) and 8 year old Francisco (Jorge Lamelas) are youngsters working as shepherds for the family flock of sheep. One day, a vision appears to the three children. It's the Virgin Mary (Joana Ribeiro) offering words of hope and a request for praying and strong faith.

Of course kids are kids, so their secret gets spilled almost immediately. As you would expect, no one believes them. Not their family or those in the small Portugal village. The townspeople gather regularly in the square to hear the Mayor (Goran Visnjic) read the names of the local boys and men who have been killed in war. It's a gut-wrenching occurrence for all involved, and yet another opportunity for the mean-spirited folks to accuse the kids of lying about what they've seen. The local priest (Joaquim de Almeida) tries to frighten them out of the story, and even Lucia's mother (Lucia Moniz) scolds and belittles her.

"The faith of a child" has rarely been more evident than with young Lucia. She stays strong despite being ostracized by the villagers, the church, and even her family. The film makes clear observation about faith and religion. What is religion but believing and having faith in something intangible - something that can't be seen or touched. Director Pontecorvo delivers a faith-based film, yet one that is not preachy. It does make us wonder why the religious leaders are themselves so lacking in true faith, and why the politician is envious of the youngsters who draw an audience. Photographs of that day in 1917 ... the "Miracle of the Sun" ... are shown as part of the closing credits, while Andrea Bocelli's remarkable voice sings out. It's a low-budget film with some overacting (from adults), but the message and the performance of young Stephanie Gil make it worthwhile.

Honestly, I liked it, even though it wasn't perfect. One of the most beautiful and well-made religious films I've ever seen, mainly due to the quality of the actors, young Stephanie Gil is brilliant, and the children Alejandra Howard and Jorge Lamelas are also perfect, the adult cast also does a great job. Setting and ambience are realistic, it manages to portray place and time well, soundtrack is pleasant, direction and production have good quality, in short, a lot of good things. The only thing that slips is the script, which is confusing, it skips several moments of the real story, and anyone who doesn't know it will feel quite confused, especially in the last third, where there is an even greater void in the details of the real facts, leaving out a lot of things.

I think this is a movie where spoilers might be useful for those who don't know the real story. It's worth doing some search on the internet and reading a little about it, in order to watch the film knowing how everything happened, it's the only way to not get lost with the final part of the film and understand that a lot was excluded from the script.

Rating 7 out of 10, it could be an even higher rating if it weren't for the problem I mentioned above.

Fatima is a definite must-see film for those of the Catholic faith. A phenomenal period masterpiece that pulls at your heartstrings. A film that should not be missed. Fatima brings light to a true story that many do not know.

Fatima tells the true story of three young children who met the Virgin Mary and were witnesses of "The Miracle of the Sun." The movie opens up with Professor Nichols (Harvey Keitel) as he visits Sister Lucia (Sonia Braga) in a nunnery in 1989. They talk about the happenings from Lucia's past in 1917 Fatima, Portugal. The film goes back and forth between both years. We see a young Lucia (Stephanie Gil) with her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto (Jorge Lamelas and Alejandra Howard) meet the Virgin Mary (Joana Ribeiro). After that fateful day, the story breaks out and the children are faced with a harsh reality.

The true standouts of Fatima are its young actors. Stephanie, Jorge and Alejandra show the struggle of being called "liars" when telling the truth. The kids are called out by their parents and are given the cold shoulder by many in the village. This never stops them-they stand by the truth with faith in their hearts. The movie concludes with The Miracle of the Sun which happened on October thirteenth, 1917, followed by actual photos of that day. The makeshift monument that was built in the movie is an exact replica of the monument in the photograph. It is appealing to see how much filmmakers worked on small yet important details such as this one.

The lesson to be learned from the film is to always have faith and believe in your truth. Time and time again, Lucia faces anger from her mother, who believes her daughter is lying about meeting Mary. Not once does Lucia give up, however; and she always prays, standing by her word. The topic of the Catholic faith may disinterest some audiences who do not share the same views. Considering that Fatima features the Virgin Mary, Catholicism is front and center in the movie.

I give Fatima 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 14 to 18 plus adults. Reviewed by Heather S., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

The 2020 version is a good attempt at telling the story of Fatima. However, many details were omitted which will leave the audience, who may not know the story well, scratching their heads in confusion. Far more could have been done to better explain what happened during the Miracle of the Sun.

I was raised catholic, and as I have matured through adulthood and seen the best and worse of humanity in one day turned my belief upside down. But yet I still believe, this movie is about faith! It's uplifting and warm, it makes you think about the what we are all going through during the Pandemic. If you agree or not, watch it enjoy the movie only wished it was longer and more detail surrounding the story could of made a excellent series.!