For folks who are tired of languishing in the vast but shallow streaming libraries of Amazon Prime, Netflix or Hulu — caught between yet more superhero shows and a plethora of milquetoast period pieces — one decent quality, faith-based movie might provide a change of pace.
2020 film Fatima, a surprisingly decent Hollywood adaptation of the story of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three Portuguese children in 1917, is now available for streaming on Netflix. The movie boasts both a positive critics’ rating and audience rating on RottenTomatoes.com and stars famous actors like Harvey Keitel and Sonia Braga.
The film is based on historical events — verified by the Catholic Church — in which the mother of Jesus Christ visited three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. The Virgin’s messages, which were imparted to Jacinta, Lucia and Francisco routinely over the course of that year, were intended to remind people that they needed to devote their lives to prayer, sacrifice and total dependence on God in order for the current (World War I) and upcoming trials of the world in the 20th century to be mitigated.
Over the course of the meetings, the Virgin instructed the children that if humanity should refuse to repent an even greater tragedy would befall the world, which believers have come to understand as a warning about the second world war. Mary also left other dire warnings that unless humanity changed course, Russia would “spread her errors” (communism) throughout the world and that the rest of the twentieth century would give rise to more darkness.
Though, the Blessed Mother’s message was ultimately hopeful, telling the children that she would never abandon the world and that God’s mercy would always be available. She promised that her “Immaculate Heart” would triumph bringing an era of peace to the Church and the world after the events she warned about.
During her last visit to the three peasant children, which nearly 70,000 people traveled to witness after news of the apparitions spread throughout the country, the “miracle of the Sun” occurred. The event — corroborated by many of the thousands in attendance — was supernatural, in which the sun appeared to “dance” in the sky, terrifying many, but ultimately leaving them astounded and grateful for God’s grace.
Christian outlets have agreed that the film Fatima does a great job of capturing the message and message of these miraculous events. Denvercatholic.org claimed “Fatima is a well-made film that’s likely the most impactful dramatization of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima to date.” The National Catholic Register praised the film as “easily the most compelling dramatization of the Fátima story to date and fills a long-felt need in the world of religious cinema.”
Fox News host David Asman promoted the film’s Netflix debut on Twitter with an Albert Einstein quote that was featured in the film’s credits. “Einstein said: Either you believe miracles never happen, or you believe they happen every day....One of the most spectacular was the ‘Miracle of the Sun’ witnessed by tens of thousands in Fatima Portugal,” Asman tweeted, adding, “Now Netflix has the film that tells the story.”
Einstein said: Either you believe miracles never happen, or you believe they happen every day....One of the most spectacular was the “Miracle of the Sun” witnessed by tens of thousands in Fatima Portugal. Now Netflix has the film that tells the story. https://t.co/a3PtH6zS5r
— David Asman (@DavidAsmanfox) February 10, 2021
For viewers who want something different, Fatima offers quality entertainment focused on things much more important than caped crusaders, giant apes, and yes, even politics.
