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Providentially, my copy of the film 13th Day arrived today, on October 13, the day Our Lady revealed herself as Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima in 1917 - as well as the anniversary of the great miracle of the sun. No, it is not a feast day - simply an anniversary.
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The film is not bad, special effects are quite good - especially as they portray the "secret" of Fatima, which was revealed in three parts. That perhaps is the most impressive sequence in the film, and if I would have seen it before I painted my panel of 'The Secret', I may have changed my composition. The jailed children sequence I found to be excessively long, although wonderfully updated for our times with the skinhead character. The final scene of the miracle was rather well done - wonderful drama - but if memory serves me, the Warner Bros. scene may have been just as good without the CGI. Although I did like the magical, mystical cinematography which just about overlaid every scene in the13th Day, it gave an art-film quality to the production. Interestingly, some of the wooded scenes reminded me of Garabandahl when I visited there in the 1970's.
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Anyway - it was a pretty good film - nicely done. The message of Fatima was conveyed quite well. Like my own private experience at Fatima, I personally found the film rather dark and sober - and Our Lady's message was indeed very much on that order - although the film felt a little too strained and joyless.
I hope I can view this some day.
ReplyDeleteOur Lady of Fatima and her message, the lives of the seers, esp. Bl. Jacinta and Francisco, are so very precious and a real inspiration to live for Jesus and Mary!
Ian & Dominic Higgins' follow up to The 13th Day is out now. It's a documentary titled Finding Fatima. The trailers look great. They have a website if anyone's interested: www.findingfatimadvd.com
ReplyDeleteAnd there were UFOs in NYC today:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TA_pKVKgKg&feature=player_embedded
Vatican: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7399661.stm
Fantasctic film.
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie at a local showing in a parish. I was very excited to see it. Pumped. Saw the trailers and told everyone to see it.
ReplyDeleteLove the apparition / The movie, not so much. Love actual Fatima / The special effects get stale fast (the problem with taking essentially a music video, short art flick format into feature length).
But I've learned (not that well as you can see) not to express these thoughts in nice Catholic company for fear of being accused of being critical, anti-Fatima, or of not loving the rosary or respecting Our Holy Mother - which is nonsense.
One lady stopped attending a series of apologetic talks I was giving when she asked, outside of the time of the talks, what I had thought of the film. I wasn't rude but I was honest. Apparently I crushed her. Hopefully she's praying her rosary for me.
word verification: groti (like grotto but not)
Gina - thanks - I will check that out - I may appreciate it even more.
ReplyDeleteOwen - exactly - I was very impressed with the trailers and everyone's good reviews got me all pumped to see it - so my expectations exceeded the reality - although it's definitely well done. Fatima is very difficult to capture creatively, as a visual artist you recognize all of the limitations - I especially appreciate pointing out the music video format getting stale. Again the joylessness made the film seem heavy.
Terry, your a pal.
ReplyDeleteAnd any drawing or painting I make of the Miracle of Fatima will also be guaranteed to disappoint. It's good to try though to promote the message and for that I thank these film makers.
Our Lady of Good Success is tied to Fatima somehow.
ReplyDeleteThe Archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel hand painted the statue of her in Quito, Ecuador.
This is a four hundred year old approved apparition of the Holy Mother.
http://traditioninaction.org/OLGS/olgshome.htm
I understand this group has a questionable reputation, but this article is well done.
And it is free.
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Oh dear...just watched the trailer for this one and not to be a Debbie Downer, but the melodrama of it makes it ridiculous, cheesy and laughable. There is no need to go over-the-top with Fatima. It is a beautiful story with a beautiful, simple message, well documented. No need to go all pseudo-hollywood-blockbuster-throw in as many bad special effects as we can afford.
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