Ricci on the big screen

Interesting bit of news from CNA about a new film featuring one of the great, but little-known, Jesuit misisonaries:

A new documentary on the life of Fr. Matteo Ricci, a pioneering Jesuit missionary to China, was screened at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday.

The film is part of a revival of interest in Ricci, whom Pope Benedict XVI has called a model for a “fruitful meeting” between civilizations.

The movie, directed by Italian filmmaker Gjon Kolndrekaj, was shot in China and Italy.

Political and religious dignitaries from both countries attended the screening, ANSA reports. They included the Patriarch of Venice Cardinal Angelo Scola, China’s Ambassador to Italy Sun Yuxi and the Chinese Embassy’s cultural counselor Zhang Jianda.

Hopefully the film will make it to the U.S. in the near future. For more about Fr. Ricci, see this excellent introduction by my good friend, Dr. Tony Clark, who teaches Asian history at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington:

Comments

[Dr John James]

There appear to be some interesting films emerging from a variety of sources. There have been reports, here in Australia, of a movie about Josemaria Esciva, founder of Opus Dei. The short press article I saw panned the film, but the films' production crew sounded as though they had a good deal of experience and prestige within the film industry.
If the film is made, it will be interesting to see how the Spanish Civil War is treated historically.I get the impression that the war is still a 'hot-button' issue, especially in Spain which currently has a government with some historical 'sympathies' for the republicans.Alot of the commentary I've read about Escriva seems to suggest that he was hunted by republican militias and soldiers because he was a "fascist". The journalists never state that if you were a priest in the republican controlled areas, you were a 'dead man walking' simply by virtue of being a priest.
There is a nice anecdote I read about Escriva in relation to this deep animosity that you often see after civil wars especially.
Shortly after the war he caught a cab and it became apparent that the driver had fought on the republican side. " What a pity they ( the republicans ) didn't kill you," the driver said to Escriva as they were parting company. Escriva went to pay his fare, and gave the driver, in addition to the fare, a small tip
"By your kids some sweets" he replied.
I think Escriva the greatest apostle to the laity since Francis de Sales, maybe even since St Paul.