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48 of 57 people found the following review helpful: Hallmark spirituality, April 20, 2006 By  L. S. Jaszczak "servant of the secret fire" - See all my reviews    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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

51 of 61 people found the following review helpful: Fluffy, yet Inspiring, January 10, 2006 By  Brittany Harrison (Somewhere between heaven and earth) - See all my reviews    I saw this movie when it was at the theatre. Being well acquainted with the life of st Therese made me realize the liberties 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, but it is a good introduction to the life of saint Therese, so 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.  Comments (2) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

24 of 33 people found the following review helpful: A Loving Retelling of the Life of St. Therese, April 26, 2006 By  Timothy Kearney (Hull, MA United States) - See all my reviews       THERESE is a contemporary retelling of the life of St. Therese of Liseux. The film tells the basic story of her life and quotes from her writings are used to narrate the story. The story is told from a reverential and pious perspective which for some films gives an unrealistic quality, but for THERESE, it's actually helpful. The viewer connects with the saint's life and witness. In some ways it has some of the same strengths of the St. Francis of Assisi biopic BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON but on a lesser scale than that of producer Franco Zefferelli. Perhaps what sold me most on this film was not the film itself, but the story behind the film which is an additional feature to the DVD. For everyone involved, the production was a labor of love. It was obviously a small studio with a limited budget, yet the scenery was lush, the acting sincere, and the musical score helped the film flow. The purpose was to tell the saint's story in a memorable way and this the team accomplished rather well. My guess is that this film will be viewed primarily by people interested in Catholic spirituality or in a religious educational setting. Either would be a perfect use for the film. We get a glimpse of Therese's struggles and successes. We see her mature form a child who is at times overly curious about religion to a woman of deep faith. She also teaches us, to paraphrase from a modern expression and book title, not to sweat the small stuff and how not sweating the small stuff can actually lead to holiness. It would be perfect to be viewed by a large group with the possibility of discussion afterward.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)