Director
Marco Pontecorvo

Stars
Stephanie Gil, Lúcia Moniz, Joaquim de Almeida, Goran Visnjic, Joana Ribeiro, Sônia Braga and Harvey Keitel

Surprisingly spoken entirely in English, Fátima is inspired by historical events and the memories of Sister Lúcia that took place in the titular-named Portuguese city during the First World War in 1917. In this faith-based film, Lúcia is just 10 years of age (played by Stephanie Gil) when she experiences her first vision of an angel while in a cave. Perhaps it was always intended as a test of her commitment to her faith for what is to follow. When out one day with two of her cousins, Lúcia has visions where she is approached by and spoken to by a beautiful woman whom she claims is the Virgin Mary. Word of this phenomenon rapidly circulates, arousing desperately needed hope among the gathering community, but raising doubt and triggering great backlash from the Catholic Church and the secularist government.

Fatima’s screenplay is convincing, albeit a little repetitive, when chronicling the significance of Lúcia’s visions and messages from the Blessed Virgin to the public. It is a time of great uncertainty for many of the vulnerable townspeople who agonisingly await to learn the fate of loved ones serving on the front lines. It’s fair to say that Lúcia’s miraculous experiences become their beacon of hope and restores faith to the masses. When the story eventually broadens to include other sub-plots, particularly one involving the town’s mayor and his handling of Lúcia’s visions, Fatima does grow to become quite fascinating. Having known next to nothing about this story or its events prior to seeing this film, I was left astounded by some of the reactions of the Church and the government. The dramatisation of these occurrences culminates to an infamous event known as the Miracle of the Sun.

There is a languidness present in Fatima it never completely shakes off. Nor does it ever intend to derive a genuine oppositional stance to Lúcia’s questionable experiences through the character of a non-believing Professor (played by Harvey Keitel) who quizzes Sister Lúcia (now played by Sônia Braga) during a visit to her convent in 1989. Regardless of whether or not the script is argumentative on the subject, Fatima would certainly benefit from more of its running time being devoted to this timeline. Sônia Braga and Harvey Keitel have some serious chemistry going on! Nevertheless, I can easily accept this film for what it is and there’s enough to like to about it. Namely, a beautiful music score and a very committed performance from young actress Stephanie Gil. She is in almost every scene and carries the sometimes heavier weight of the film. Her efforts and convincing work are worthy of recognition.

3 stars

Viewer Discretion
M (Mature themes and violence)

Trailer
Fatima

Moviedoc thanks Rialto Distribution, Ned & Co Marketing and Publicity and Annette Smith for providing the screener link to watch and review this film.

Fatima is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from September 3.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc
Follow on Twitter – Moviedoc / LIKE on Facebook – @moviedoc13

©