Customer Reviews

Catholic Heroes of the Faith: The Story of Saint Perpetua

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This DVD about St. Perpetua is the first in the new series, Catholic Heroes of the Faith. It is well done, and I am looking forward to future films in this series. I purchased this for our parish library, and we definitely want to include the entire series in our library when they are available.

The story of St. Perpetua and friends is well told and historically correct in this short DVD. I have heard the names of St Perpetua and St. Felicity for many years, but never knew much about them. This children's film has peaked my interest in them, and I intend to read the writings of St. Perpetua mentioned in the film.

This movie is recommended for children eight and up. I would not recommend this for younger children as the movie deals with martyrdom and might be frightening for younger children. For more information on Catholic Heroes of the Faith, you may want to visit their website.

Highly Recommended!

This short animated film tells the story of Saint Perpetua and her companions, who were martyred in Carthage, in North Africa, in the year 203. Perpetua's writings are the earliest on record by a female Christian. The animation in this film is good, the best of any Catholic animated films I've seen, though not of the quality of The Prince of Egypt. The storyline is quite rich and historically detailed and brings to life the sorrows, fears, hopes and joys of Christianity in the Early Church. In particular, the concept that those awaiting martyrdom might fear pain, but not death, is very helpful and hopeful!

The story is quite dramatic and might be difficult for more sensitive children (especially since Perpetua and Felicity, both mothers of babies, have to part with them) though the producers have skillfully avoided gore or some details that are unnecessary for children. The comic relief, provided by the devout pagan jailer (a real-life character who ends up converting and tells Perpetua's story to others!) and his attempts to communicate with his "gods" helps draw children into the story as well. My younger children (ages 5-11) have been entranced by this story and have developed a real devotion to Saints Felicity and Perpetua.

I do recommend previewing the movie first before sharing it with younger or more sensitive children.

Mike Aquilina, a pre-eminent Catholic author and speaker on the Fathers of the Church, served as script consultant for this video.

The same company has also produced a documentary entitled The Passion of Saint Perpetua: Martyr of the Faith which is also quite good and includes detailed commentary from Mike Aquilina. It tells the more complete story of Perpetua's spirituality and the visions she had before her death. Although it has some content that is a little more mature than that found in the video, on the whole it's surprisingly family-friendly and is quite moving! It's available for rental through Amazon.

Well-done portrayal of these early Christian martyrs. Left me wondering why it has taken so long for someone to bring their stories to prominence. The subject material is not sugar coated in any way, but remains appropriate viewing for children, although very young children might find it frightening. I am looking forward to the other videos in this series!

This movie is absolutely terrible for young children. The story is too harsh and would only scare them. I can't imagine any young child enjoying this movie. I showed it to my niece who is in the target age group and she could not sleep for a few days. I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 14.