CULTURE
By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP
Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP
FAVORITE BOOK-to-
FILM ADAPTATIONS
The Song of Bernadette (1943) The Color Purple (1985) Emma. (2020) The Secret Garden (2020) From Prada to Nada (2011)
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M
ost Catholics know the story about the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531 to St. Juan Diego (Guillermo Iván) in what is now Mexico City. This film begins in the present day. John (also played by Iván) is a journalist who meets Mary (Kimberley Aria Peterson) when he is researching in the library, and they soon marry. But he resists when his editor, Mr. Dominguez (Rudy Miera), assigns him a story about Mexican identity and beliefs. He suggests that John attend a class with Father Xavier Escalada (Glenn Craley), who is speaking about Our Lady of Guadalupe. John’s wife drops him off on the way to her baby shower. Then something happens that changes everything. The film goes back 500 years to the village where Juan Diego lives with his wife and uncle before they are baptized and receive Christian names. The people struggle against the oppression of the conquistadors, but when the Franciscan missionaries arrive and teach people about Jesus and the Gospels, they are baptized. When Juan Diego’s uncle becomes ill, he goes for medicine by way of the hill of Tepeyac. There, a beautiful lady (Paola Baldion) appears to him. She asks him to go to the bishop and request that a chapel be built there in her honor so that she may help the people in their time of need. Juan Diego, believing himself unworthy, doesn’t go to the
42 • May 2021 | StAnthonyMessenger.org
bishop right away. He takes a different route, but the lady is there. When he finally sees the bishop, he asks for a sign. The lady is the mother of Jesus, and she gives Juan Diego a sign that is still with us today. It is always challenging for filmmakers to present the Blessed Mother in a movie—and even more difficult for an actress to play her. But the portrayal here is convincing without being sentimental. Choosing to go back and forth with parallel story lines separated by centuries to frame the narrative is not new, but here it is given fresh expression by director Pedro Brenner and cowriter Seann Dougherty. Lady of Guadalupe is a beautiful tribute to the mother of God, the faith of the Mexican people, and all who honor Our Lady of Guadalupe as a patroness of life. Not yet rated • Some fighting and mistreatment of people.
A WEEK AWAY: NETFLIX; ROE V. WADE: CNS PHOTO/COURTESY VALERIE ZUCKER
Sister Rose’s
LADY OF GUADALUPE
LEFT: COURTESY SISTER ROSE PACATTE, FSP/MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS; LADY OF GUADALUPE: VISION FILMS INC.
Sister Rose is a Daughter of St. Paul and the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies. She has been the award-winning film columnist for St. Anthony Messenger since 2003 and is the author of several books on Scripture and film, as well as media literacy education.
