Customer Reviews

Therese

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I was very excited to see this film in the video store, but on the whole was quite disappointed with it. Comparing it to the actual life and writings of St. Therese is like comparing one of the saccharine pictures of her to an actual photograph. Nice - maybe inspiring, but superficial and insipid when placed next to the real thing.

One of the big mistakes I think the makers of the film made, unless their goal was an introductory hagiography, was to attempt to portray Therese's entire life, at least beginning shortly before her mother's death. Even a relatively uneventful 15-20 years cannot be covered in any depth in an hour and a half. Also, even though she has a few crying spells, she is still shown as an almost perfect human being right from the beginning, so I didn't really get a sense of her spiritual struggle and growth. In addition, the passivity with with she is portrayed almost completely dilutes the power of her "little way." I believe that the French film mentioned by one of the other reviewers concentrated on the period of her illness and death, and was able to show her life and personality in much more depth.

A couple of things that could have been brought out or portrayed even in this version: the fact that Therese was made Mistress of Novices, entrusted with the spiritual direction of women who were sometimes older than herself; her relationship with the saintly old Mother Superior who died during her time at Carmel; and more than a glancing reference to the writing of the manuscripts that were published as _The Story of a Soul_.

However, if this movie inspires people to go out and read Therese's writing (I also recommend the biography _The Story of a Life_ by Msgr. Guy Gaucher, which is where I first encountered her), I suppose it will have fulfilled its purpose.

For anyone who has read The Story of a Soul, Therese's letters, or any of the well-done biographies about her and her family members--this movie is going to be a massive disappointment. Biographically, it is grossly inaccurate which in turn distorts beyond recognition the spirituality of Therese's "Little Way." For example, in the movie the adult actress plays scenes that ought to have been done by a child actress. Therese was overly scrupulous as a little girl (until age 13 or so). To have an adult Therese whimpering about having eaten too much cake (and worrying if she's therefore a glutton) makes her seem absurd. Another scene, once she's a nun, in the washroom where another nun repeatedly splashes water in Therese's face is the opposite of what happened in reality. In the movie, Therese grits her teeth, tries to overcome her irritation, and ends by giggling sheepishly and splashing the other nun back. Gag.

What the real Therese tried to do was offer up lovingly and cheerfully the minor irritations (and at times major suffering) caused by her fellow nuns. In her autobiography, she describes how difficult it was for her to put up with being splashed inadvertently by a zealous nun who washed the laundry next to her. Therese did not splash her back. She did not draw attention to the incident. She silently battled her irritation, ignored the splashing, and did not in any exterior way let the other nun know she was bothered. At the same time, interiorly, she did her best to focus on loving God and her fellow nun. She tried to keep herself from getting absorbed by her feelings of irritation. One of the hallmarks of Therese's "Little Way" is that she sought to deal with the little, petty incidents of daily life with charity, humility, and cheerfulness, regardless of her feelings and personal preferences. As others have mentioned, this movie is indeed poorly shot and poorly acted but those are minor faults considering the biographical and spiritual substance of this movie depicts what is essentially an Anti-Therese.

I saw this movie when it was at the theater. Being well acquainted with the life of St Therese made me realize the liberties which the film makers took in the film and how fluffy they made her seem, yet when the movie was over, I was glad that I had seen it. It is an uplifting movie, a movie that makes you question what you hold as valuable. There are funny scenes and sad scenes, but the theme that runs throughout is joy. The movie was not as deep as I expected, and if you have more than an introductory knowledge of her life you will be disappointed, but as a summary of her life it works. I would recommend it to those who desire to have a glimpse of her personality, freed of all of the false Jansenistic overtones some movies give her, but do not take it as a completely accurate interpretation of the woman.

...because I feel I'm being, in some way, sacrilegious but this film was a very poor attempt to portray an extraordinary person, at least in my life. I am a Catholic and have been devout to the St. Therese of Lisieux for most of my adult life and I was really looking forward to this film. Like many of the other reviewers, I have also seen the French film of the same title and found it a far more rewarding experience than this new production. The movie plays out like a religious Anne of Green Gables, with a Hallmark film quality that manages to gloss over everything to the point of making every character come across as one-dimensional cut outs of piety and wholesomeness. Having read Story of a Soul, I know that Therese was not a faultless divine creation, but rather a very human woman with an extraordinary devotion to, love for and faith in God. Everyone is so saccharine sweet and perfect that it bordered on the sickening. It just wasn't believable. Even more so, using the same actress to portray Therese from the age of 14 to 24 was an insane idea (Lindsay Younce was 21 at the time of filming). Not only do we not witness her spiritual growth but there is no sense of the passing of time. The acting is a bit pedestrian and the dialogue an exercise in stilted screenwriting, the music hockey and contrived, but the production values are high and the movie has beautiful look to it. No doubt everyone's heart was in the right place but this is just not the kind of film that will really shed any light on Therese Martin, woman and Saint.

I have always loved St. Theresa, the Little Flower. Like the other reviewer, I looked forward to seeing this movie. I am a Traditional Catholic and thought that finally here was a great movie that would portray her life in a realistic and sacred manner.

I was so shocked as scene after disappointing scene unfolded. The music was beautiful but became monotonous after a while, as it never changed ambiance. The costumes deserve great credit but the acting in most part, especially the scenes inside the monastery, were clumsy and childishly scripted. The acting was stilted and forced. It seems that no attempt was made to really understand Carmelite comportment and behaviour. The scenes of scorn from the nuns, the ungainly gestures and the ludicrous 'dance' into the refectory were totally uncharacteristic of instinctive religious behaviour. The nuns also appeared to 'stride' around, as can be seen in the garden scene. There is not one single scene of St. Thesea attending Mass, or any beautiful shots inside a church, or Cathedral, etc. These things are all very important.

An over exaggeration has been applied to the concept of French family affections. The eight year old ill Therese was played by a grown girl, which looked rediculous, especially with full length shots of her writhing around in her sick bed in a very unladylike manner!

Stay on the safe side and buy the older movies on St. Theresa!

I found this movie almost painful to sit through almost from the very beginning. The acting was amateurish and the dialog was stilted and unnatural. I have great love and respect for St. Therese of Lisieux because she was tender yet courageous, gentle yet determined, and most of all, holy in spite of intense personal trials. The movie revealed virtually none of this and made her appear superficial, almost to the point of silliness. I had really expected more depth and a more mature treatment of such a remarkable life.

I was very eager to watch this film, as I find most films about saints to be extremely inspiring and compelling.

This is a simple film about a simple woman, Therese, who is a young French woman who finds an immediate connection with nature and people. She uses her "Little Way" to perform small acts of compassion and kindness, even for those who are not grateful for the help she bestows.

The film is great in its simplicity, and it would have worked perfectly, it didn't come up a bit short. At an hour and a half, the film is not nearly long enough for the viewer to truly grasp and appreciate the young Therese. Nearly half of the film is spent on her childhood. This isn't bad or wrong, but at an hour and a half, it doesn't leave enough time to really get into depth of her life, especially while she is at the monastery.

The film is made in the tradition of "Song of Bernadette," which is still the best film made about a saint to this day, in my opinion. The "Song of Bernadette" is also about two and a half hours long, giving the film-makers and the audience more than sufficient time to really fall in love with Bernadette. This is what I was waiting for with this film, but it didn't happen. At 25, Jennifer Jones was able to really bring out the simple, child-like qualities of Bernadette.

I'm also afraid that Lindsay Younce, while a good actress, just isn't able to wholly grasp the character of Therese. I don't think it's necessarily her fault. It's quite a task to act as a famous saint. I still remember Ben Kingsley's statement when first offered the part of Gandhi "I can't play Gandhi. NO ONE can play him. He's larger than life!" And yet, he was able to tap into the essence of Gandhi.

There are some very sweet and tender moments in this film. I love the relationship between Therese and the senior nun who tries her best to make Therese's life miserable. When Therese smiles at her, the nun asks, "Why do you smile?" "Because I'm so happy to see you," replies Therese who quickly disarms the nun with these sweet words of love.

I really feel that if Leonardo had stretched out his film for at least another hour, and really dug a little deeper, he would have had a masterpiece, without question. It's beautifully photographed, and the relationships he shows between Therese and her father as well as with her sisters is wonderful to see.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad movie by any means. It simply isn't enough. I feel that Leonardo's attempt to make a simple film was admirable, but even simple films can run longer than an hour and a half!

This movie is one I would be embarrassed to see with Catholic friends and would avoid seeing absolutely with non-Catholics; it is one of the worst acted films I have ever had the misfortune to watch. Honestly, I've seen high school plays with better acting and dialog than this. At every turn, it is cloying and revoltingly sentimental, what the French call 'mièvre.' It is something you might expect to find in a down scale religious bookstore, right there beside the silly luminous statuettes of our Lady of Lourdes and plastic St. Christopher car ornaments.

I am an orthodox Catholic who loves the Church and I simply hate to find products like this that imply believers are simpleminded philistines. How anyone in the Vatican could recommend something so poorly done escapes me unless the person in question was a secret Mason interested only in undermining the Church's credibility.

This film as an unprecedentedly REALISTIC view of a saint I have read about for over 40 years. One must realize that life in the 19th century was not convenient or easy--and the convent life depicted reflects various aspects of that. Also, French culture at the time of her life was tolerant of much innocent, physical demonstrations of love among family members--also depicted in the film. I found this movie to be one of the most beautiful I have ever seen about her life. To one unfamiliar with the history and French culture of the 19th century, the sets would appear to be stark and barren. If we of the 21st century are appalled by that, I invite you to visit the Carmelite convent where Therese lived and died--compared to that, the sets used in the movie were luxurious! The acting was done with reverence, and the scenes depicting her death were awe-inspiring (and brought tears to my eyes)! A definite good work on the life of a Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church!!

Alas, a juvenile script, amateur direction and porn-level acting about a remarkable woman worthy of infinitely more. I will presume it was made with love, but a lack of inspiration, know-how and funding.