Catholic Family News Review of “The 13th Day”

Full review by my friend John Vennari here, bits below. And visit the official webpage for

Miracle of the Sun

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In the spring of this year, I saw the riveting trailer for The 13^th Day, and looked forward to its release with great anticipation. I recently viewed the movie itself. The film is good, though there are some aspects I found disappointing.

The 13^th Day has many fine moments. The actress who portrays Lucia’s mother is superb, and even a bit terrifying. The movie contains the best portrayal of the Miracle of the Sun I’ve seen. It is filmed in black and white, except when Our Lady brings everything to color, which is a nice touch. The overall visual theme of the film is original and appealing. Most of the acting is well executed, and the film is artistically done.

But it is certain aspects of this attempted artistry that either slow down the film or present a distraction.

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The film opens with the words “Based on a True Story”, which signals there will be a certain amount of artistic license in chronicling the Fatima events. It is the nature of movie-making to employ this license in the production of any film on a historical subject, but I believe the film should have stuck more scrupulously to the actual facts in certain areas, especially since these facts are so readily available.

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Though the bulk of the film is historically accurate, there are a number of minor inaccuracies, such as those already noted. I can’t help but wonder why the filmmakers did not always reproduce Our Lady’s words as She spoke them, and at the time She spoke them.

One of the refreshing aspects of this 2009 film – at least in the preview I saw – is that it makes no comment on the controversy surrounding Pope John Paul’s Consecration of the world in 1984, and of the Vatican’s commentary on the release of the vision of the Third Secret in 2000. The film contains other strong points, such as depicting the desolation of Lucia’s father when he learns his fields have been trampled into disuse by the throngs who come to Fatima for Our Lady’s visitations.

I am certain many people will be edified by The 13^th Day, as the story of Fatima itself cannot but move the soul. The film has a certain rustic beauty, and is bound to get more people interested in the Fatima Message. The filmmakers deserve much credit for their devotion to Fatima, and for the tremendous amount of time, funds and energy they undoubtedly poured into this work.

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