New film 'The 13th Day' offers artistic retelling of Fatima apparitions

home : news : entertainment	July 31, 2010

10/21/2009 6:10:00 AM

Email this article • Print this article

In a scene from the new movie, "The 13th Day," young actors portray the three shepherd children to whom Our Lady appeared in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. The film was released on Oct. 13, the 92nd anniversary of the miracle of the sun in Fatima.

New film 'The 13th Day' offers artistic retelling of Fatima apparitions

LAURA WRIGHT
Catholic Standard

Catholic and non-Catholic viewers alike will be captivated by the dramatic and artistic retelling of the Fatima apparitions during a new film, "The 13th Day."

The true story of three illiterate children - Lucia dos Santos and Francisco and Jacinta Marto - who saw Our Lady on the 13th day of the month for several months and kept her heavenly secrets when threatened with death would be enough to keep a viewer's attention. But the lighting, careful positioning of characters within a scene and innovative cinematic effects add to the film's appeal.

The film was released to a limited audience in 13 locations across the country and at the Fatima shrine in Portugal on Oct. 13, the same day God performed a miracle that the children had predicted. The sun danced for 70,000 people in the Cova de Iria region of Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Witnesses say they saw the sun spin, change colors and plunge toward the Earth.

The film surpasses many other smaller budget, Catholic films in creativity and drama. The directors - Ian and Dominic Higgins - use digital effects to help viewers realize the profound and powerful nature of both the apparitions and the miracle.

The film is largely done in black and white - color generally only breaking through the scene during an apparition. It sometimes gives the viewer the feeling that they are watching an old classic with special effects woven throughout it.

The movie does not detail everything Mary told the children - such as some of Our Lady's prophecies and warnings about the world that she asked the children to keep secret. These included a vision of hell, the timing of World War II, the spread of communism and the attempted assassination of a pope, later revealed to be Pope John Paul II. Our Lady also asked the children to pray the rosary, do penance and ask God to forgive sinners.

The film is available for screening at parishes, schools and other venues. To obtain the rights to show this movie, go to www.the13thdaymovie.com or call Maximus Group at 1-877-263-1263. Following these preliminary screenings, the film will be available for purchase from Ignatius Press on Dec.1.

For more information on the movie or to watch the trailer go to www.the13thday.com or www.the13thdaymovie.com .

Reader Comments

Posted: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Article comment by: louisa white

I have recently watched this film at my local church screening and i thought that it was a beautiful re telling of the Fatima story. I have also just watched the trailer for the Higgins brothers companion documentary finding fatima www.findingfatimadvd.com which I think will be even better. Very beautiful definitely worth a watch.

Article Comment Submission Form

Please feel free to submit your comments.

Article comments are not posted immediately to the Web site. Each submission must be approved by the Web site editor, who may edit content for appropriateness. There may be a delay of 24-48 hours for any submission while the web site editor reviews and approves it.

Note: All information on this form is required. Your telephone number is for our use only, and will not be attached to your comment.

Name:

Telephone:

E-mail:

Passcode:

This form will not send your comment unless you copy exactly the passcode seen below into the text field. This is an anti-spam device to help reduce the automated email spam coming through this form.

Please copy the passcode exactly
- it is case sensitive.

Message:

SITE MAP | Archdiocese of Washington |