Fatima
Directed by Marco Pontecorvo, Fatima is a fictionalized retelling of real-life Lucia de Santos and her two younger cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, who received visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary between May 13 and October 13, 1917. The story unfolds via several flashbacks as Professor Nichols (Harvey Keitel) interviews Sister Lucia (Sônia Braga) in 1989 in the Carmel of Coimbra as he conducts final research for a book. Thankfully, these scenes are few as they distract from the keen depiction of the children’s experiences in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Through the apparitions, Our Lady gives the children messages for the people, secrets for the children, themselves, visions, and the climactic Miracle of the Sun, which was witnessed by 70,000 people.
Fatima depicts the events faithfully with little in the way of artistic license. Fortunately, this means fictionalized melodrama is not part of the story. Unfortunately, what should have been more dramatic, the visions of the Blessed Virgin (Joanna Ribeiro), are mundane thanks to her rather plain costume, which is in stark contrast to the description provided by the actual children, and compounded by the lack of effects to give the audience a sense this creature is from heaven. On the other hand, special effects are put to brilliant use when the children are shown the vision of hell and during the Miracle of the Sun.
Stephanie Gil plays the young Lucia, the main character of the film. She, and Jorge Lamelas as Francisco offer two of the outstanding performances. They are completely believable as children seeing apparitions of the Most Blessed Virgin. The same cannot be said of Alejandra Howard, who is unconvincing and obnoxious as Jacinta. She comes off as always happy but clueless, even as she barks out the messages spoken by the Blessed Mother to the gathered crowds. Of the adults, Lúcia Moniz is outstanding as Maria Rosa, the mother of Lucia. She portrays beautifully the deep and varied emotions of a mother whose daughter is claiming to have visions of the Mother of God. There is nothing stereotypical about her portrayal, nor does she ever devolve into histrionics. Finally, Goran Visnjic plays the mayor of Fatima who attempts to put a stop to what is happening in his town. Rather than a mustache twirling villain (though he does have a mustache), he is convincing as a sympathetic secular mayor whose own wife believes in the apparitions.
Aside
from a few weaknesses, including a confusing and out-of-place quote by Albert
Einstein at the end, it is a movie with more strengths than not. With powerful
acting, some good use of special effects, authentic looking costumes, lovely
cinematography, and a simple but effective musical score, it is a film well
worth seeing. It is a modern telling of an ageless story, as relevant today as
it was in 1917, if not more so.