Fatima

"Religious films have become an extremely profitable product in Brazil, with productions such as 'Nosso Lar', 'Chico Xavier', 'Divaldo' and the like selling up to 1 million tickets. In the Catholic religious sphere, the interesting and well-produced 'Fatima: The Story of a Miracle' emerges. Set between 1916 and 1917, it tells the story of Lucia dos Santos and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco, who claimed to have witnessed six apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the village of Aljustrel in Fatima, Portugal. From there, this feature film by Marco Pontecorvo ('Pa-ra-da') delves not only into the history of these three children, with emphasis on Lucia, but also into the social impacts of this small Portuguese town - the reaction of the neighbors, the revolt of some, the way the Church dealt with the apparition. It's a pity, however, that Pontecorvo gives in too much to the clichés of this subgenre and does not delve into topics such as the social chaos of the time, religious obsession and the like. It would be a much richer and deeper movie. Still, however, the feature film works well for those people who like religious films that follow the story as the Bible told it, without graphic or narrative exaggeration."