Therese

A beautiful film on St. Therese of Lisieux, a 19th century French bourgeois girl who became world-famous through her autobiography after dying young of TB in a convent. As an independently produced Catholic indie, it is primarily hampered by a so-so lead performance by amateur actress Lindsey Younce, whose stilted delivery evokes high school theater. Early scenes of family interactions follow "The Story of a Soul" (autobiography) pretty closely, but the inexperienced Younce is so unexpressive/wooden and petulant that some of these moments are painful to watch. Nevertheless, the mysterious source of strength in Therese's short life -- a cheerful joy for life rooted in faith despite her many sufferings -- emerges gradually as she loses her mother to an early death, her father to mental illness, and finally her own life to illness.If nothing else, Younce plays her deathbed scenes with heartfelt depth, making up a bit for the lack of gravitas throughout the rest of the film. In the final illness scenes, it feels like we're watching St. Therese rather than Younce, saving the performance. There are other highlights. Director Leonardo DeFilippis achieves a rich cinematic look augmented by a beautiful film score that helps carry us through the inconsistency of Younce's frequent church-pageant acting flourishes. He also plays Louis Martin, Therese's father, with a studied sensitivity and warmth that is a highlight of the film.Overall, the film is superior to Alain Cavalier's celebrated "Therese" (a 1986 French winner at the Cannes Film Festival) inasmuch as it gives a more straightforward narrative of this woman's life. Cavalier's film has greater depth, a better lead actress, and a more beautifully subtle treatment of the source material -- but its European minimalism, vignette-driven narrative, long periods of silence, uncomfortable religious sexuality, agnostic distance, and lack of context may puzzle some viewers who may desire a more straightforward treatment of Therese's life. This newer film, while inferior in artistry and acting to that of Cavalier, is better for narrative coherence and may be more appealing for English audiences since it lacks subtitles. It is suitable for family or church viewing and appears intended for that audience. Unlikely to appeal to non-believers, it is nevertheless calculated to be uplifting for believers, and I for one have come to appreciate it from that perspective. It may also be preferable for American audiences and younger viewers who find the French minimalism of Cavalier's film bewildering. The Little Flower still awaits a truly powerful cinematic treatment, but this film is probably the best of the bunch for now. Incidentally, Amazon needs to correct the date on this product listing: This "Therese" came out in 2004, not in 1986 as it says on this page. It seems someone at Amazon confused the date for this "Therese" with the Cavalier "Therese" of 1986.

I myself did not know much about St. Therese before this movie. I do not claim to know a lot now ... but, through this film, I have been intrigued enough to want to learn more.There are those who say that it is impossible to condense "The Story of a Soul" into a movie. This is very true. But, let's think about that statement for a moment. Is it even possible to condense a life into a book? To have the WHOLE story one would have to write every day's activities (the entire day) into a journal. The book would be at least 365 pages long for every year of a person's life. I say even "The Story of a Soul" cannot (technically) cover all of St. Therese's beautiful life.That being said, why not start with a brief introduction? Of course, the movie is never as detailed or as intimate as the book, the book is never as detailed or as intamate as the life!If you are the type of person who studies your faith, yet you have areas other than St. Therese you prefer to study at this time, why not a brief introduction through this movie? It is great for the whole family. Regardless of what anyone says this movie makes you stop and think.Some inacturate reviews state the cinematography is lousy and the acting worse. Because of these "ugly" reviews I expected my DVD of Therese to be cheap movie making. I was shocked that anyone could say such ugly things about a movie that was so beautifully shot. The cinematography is well shot. The acting is excellent. The settings are beautiful.Don't hesitate! The fruit of this movie is inspiration, and isn't that what St. Therese herself would want - to inspire you?

I love this movie. Several people have disagreed, but such is the critique of art. Everyone sees things from their own perspective. I believe it shows much of what was in the heart of St. Therese. It shows her deep love for God, and how she never lost her love of her family. It displays how she had to come to terms with a love of God that would separate her from family and the life she had always known at a very early age. It also shows how once she made the decision to follow God how she was enveloped in a great serenity, and lived perpetually in love. What I liked was in little snippets of the movie you will see Therese's "Little Way" very well exemplified. I like it because it shows this theology of hers through her actions, and it doesn't draw a tone of attention to the situations that exemplify this aspect of her; if you have read about Therese this is how she, I believe, would have wanted her "Little Way" displayed. Over all a deeply enriching movie, for me at least, and also I believe a wonderful movie for anyone discerning a spiritual vocation. You may like it and you may not, but it is definitely worth the time for you to decide for yourself.

At last, a film about the life of this little saint, from early childhood to death at the age of just 24 years. The main events leading up to her entering Carmel have all been captured here, though some of the acting could have been better (the Bishop of Bayeax and the Pope in fact, though we understand that the former is in fact a real Bishop and probably not, therefore, given to acting!). Lindsay Younce does well in the title role, as does Leonardo DePhillipis as Louis Martin, who also directed the film. Some of the narrative spoken by Lindsay could have been a little less definite; however, that does in fact portray, probably by default, that Therese still had a lot to learn regarding humility and service, and the need to put other peoples' needs before hers. The Christmas scene in which she finally by her own admission grows up, is in fact just the start of that process. Growing up takes years. There were times during the film where the temptation to go overboard emotionally reared its ugly head, but members of the cast to whom this could have occurred just about managed to avoid such a pitfall.A real joy to this film is the soundtrack, a series of quite beautiful and serene melodies that reflect the purity of Therese, her family, the Carmelite Sisters and indeed all aspects of life lived by all the afore-mentioned persons. The music gently weaves its way in and out of the film, and is never intrusive.It was good to see the number of deleted scenes in the special features section of the DVD, and it would have been nice to have included in the final release a scene depicted Therese' clothing as a Novice Carmelite, and her joy at seeing snow on the ground outside, one of many things in the world that gave her real pleasure. Given that this film was funded by charitable and public donations, that might have been asking too much perhaps. I do feel though that more could have been made of the scene of her profession in life vows. The portrayal of tuberculosis and the final death scene were well done, and it strikes a note of sadness that this disease, for which at the time there was no known cure, would claim the life of the truly beautiful person which Therese had finally become. On the other hand, had she not died at such a young age, we may never have had the grace to have known the life of this saint and all that she gave, and continues to give, to the worldwide Church.All in all, a very enjoyable and heartwarming film; a longer film would have been even better but given the financial constraints surrounding Luke Films, we have every reason to be grateful.

Excellent DVD. No fast action, up and at 'em, fast moving, guns going off. Just a lovely true story of a woman's love for God who gave herself to His will - not out of duty but out of a very real love for Him. Well worth watching

This is a beautiful film telling the story of St Therese of Lisieux words can't say it all...it made us cry she is a beautiful Saint....the DVD came so very quickly it was well packaged and the price and quality is exceptional....thank you

But sugary coated. But the second hand is more poignant.

Beautiful film of saint Therese. A pity it isn't released in Region 2. I had to watch it on my iBook's small screen.