New Review on "Cabrini" Movie Says the Movie was "Gutted of Religious Meaning" | EWTN News Nightly
Cabrini says the film delivers beautiful imagery of Rome and the Vatican and the cinematography, scenery and use of the Italian language are very well done. But the movie also is, quote, utterly gutted of religious meaning. Writing in The American Spectator this week, Doctor Paul Kengor says in part, quote, the film could have been easily salvaged at multiple junctures, if just once in one of her many dark night of the soul moments, this mother Cabrini could have turned to a crucifix, pleaded to Jesus , and prayed, alas, she doesn’t. And the author of that piece, Doctor
Paul Kengor, joins us now. He’s also a professor of political science at Grove City College in Pennsylvania . Doctor Kengor, good to see you as always, good to see you, Tracy . >> Thank you. You know, you titled this article on the movie gutting Jesus, feminist Cabrini, secular saint, that said, it’s pretty obvious that you don’t think this is a religious movie. Talk to us more about that. >> Yeah, and you know , let me start off by saying some nice things, right. Which which you quoted , I love the cinematography. I mean, I’m actually
my mother. Tracy is 100% Italian, so people wouldn’t know it from my Polish last name. In fact, my DNA test says
to this. If Mother Cabrini was watching this film today, she would probably have said, Dov’e Gesu , where’s Jesus? Jesus is not mentioned in this film about a saint. Even one time. And at first I thought, am I missing something? But now I’ve read several other reviews and other reviewers have said, you know, I don’t recall seeing Jesus mentioned even one time. Even when they do the rare prayer, which is a grace, a dinner grace with Mother Cabrini and the sisters. They say it in Latin, right, they say, blessed. But for these thy gifts which
we are about to receive. Amen. They don’t even say , through Christ our Lord. Amen, so multiple times, I’ll tell you one more. The I noticed that the orphanage is originally called in the movie The Holy Angels Orphanage. Actually, Cabrini’s orphanage was originally called the Sacred Heart Orphanage because these are the mothers of the Sacred Heart. That’s the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They even took literally the Sacred Heart of Jesus off the name of the orphanage in the beginning. So I just, I thought , this is quite a suitable mission to , everything that Mother
Cabrini did was about her . Jesus. Everything. Everything. Everything. Everything in this movie stripped every single mention of Jesus out of it. And I find that, you know, honestly appalling. >> Frankly, Paul, you know, do you think of this movie portrayed, you know, more of Mother Cabrini’s prayer life if it was more religious or more Catholic , do you think it would have the same appeal ? >> I do, and this is what what I find really striking about it. I know they want to appeal to the modern culture, to secular audiences, but, you know,
Tracy, which secular person is going to go to that movie and not expect a sainted Catholic nun to pray a couple times? Right to mention Jesus a couple of times, and you kind of wait at various times. I mean, she has multiple sort of what filmmakers call dark night of the soul moments, and I’m just waiting. I’m sitting there with my wife in the movie theater saying, when is she going to pray? Right? When is she going to pray? Where is she? In front of a crucifix, pleading. But every time she sort of goes to
herself, right? Her her womanhood. I mean, this is really it’s like a feminist movie. I mean, it is all about you. Watch the trailer of it, Angel Studios has put out a trailer where Shania Twain is singing. All right, I feel like a woman, right , so it’s very much, coming from that angle, that direction. It’s really not a very religious movie. Yeah. >> Well, let me ask you this, though , do you think it could work to help to bring more people into the faith, though presenting it this way ? >> I mean, I
hope so, but on the other hand, I just find it so striking that you could completely gut it of so much religious significance and completely gutted of any mentions of Jesus and so little prayer. Now, hopefully, and I know the filmmakers are thinking that that hopefully the filmmakers are thinking maybe, maybe they’re thinking this , that people will go and do more research on Mother Cabrini and maybe see her religious side. But I still think that you can , that you can include that religious side which animated and inspired everything that she did . I
mean, I saw an EWTN a few years ago, a mother Cabrini movie film, Italian, just of course loaded with religion. Now, these filmmakers of this film will probably say that that was too much, but you can have a little right , you know, un po is the Italian say, right, a little a tiny bit. Right. One mention of Jesus, you know, one deep moment of prayer. One just one in a in a movie that’s over. Well over two hours long. Nothing. None of that. >> Yeah . Well, Paul, I’m going to give you a little
bit of town here. Me familia, part of my family is also from Calabria, too. So that’s one more thing you and I have in common. And I enjoyed seeing Italy. Yeah. >> So Pittsburgh. >> That’s right as well. All right, Paul, thank you so much for weighing in. Great to talk with you as always. >> All right . Thanks, Tracy. Ciao,
