The White Countess (2005)

The White Countess (2005) stars the late Natasha Richardson as Sofia Belinskaya, a widowed Russian countess reduced to working as a taxi-dancer and occasional prostitute in a mean bar in Shanghai. Her costar is Ralph Fiennes as Todd Jackson, a former State Department employee and diplomat who lost his wife in one terrorist attack, and his daughter -- and his vision -- in another. The story is set in Shanghai in 1936 and 1937, concluding with the Japanese attack on that city in August, 1937, that marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Sofia lives in a cramped slum apartment with her ten-year-old daughter, Katya (Madeline Daly); her mother-in-law, Olga (Lynn Redgrave); her sister-in-law, Grushenka (Madeline Potter); and her husband's uncle and aunt, Prince Peter (John Wood), and Princess Vera (Richardson's real-life mother, Vanessa Redgrave). Their kindly neighbor, Samuel Feinstein, is played by Allan Corduner.

Sofia and her in-laws are "White Russians", émigrés who fled the communist takeover in Russia. We are not told when they left Russia, when or how Sofia's husband died, or how long they have been in Shanghai. We only know that Sofia has been doing this work for "too long". Surely, however, she has not been taxi-dancing for the nearly 20 years since the 1917 revolution or the nearly 14 years since 1923 when the civil war ended.  Moreover, their daughter is only ten. Perhaps the family left Russia in the late 20s or early 30s and perhaps Sofia's husband provided for them all until he died.  But how he died is a mystery.

The family is entirely dependent financially on Sofia and, with rare exception, they show little love for Sofia. Her sister-in-law and mother-in-law especially look down on her, even as they avail themselves of the money she faithfully brings home, and the sister-in-law labors to drive a wedge between Sofia and her daughter. There are not enough beds for everyone, but when Sofia comes home from work at dawn, the uncle feigns sleep rather than give her his bed.  Although occasionally Sofia speaks her mind, for the most part she bears their maltreatment with a patient long-suffering that touches the heart.

As for Todd Jackson, he was at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 after World War I, and involved in the failed League of Nations that was established by that treaty. Now blind, disillusioned, repelled by international affairs, and a little unbalanced psychologically, he finds relief frequenting seedy bars. In his meanderings, he meets and befriends a Mr. Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada) who, unknown to Jackson, is an advance man for the Japanese attack that will occur in August, 1937.

Sofia and Jackson meet at her workplace when she intervenes to protect him from two thugs about to mug him. Jackson fantasizes about having his own nightclub, where he can control the environment. After placing all he has on a racetrack bet, he wins enough to implement that plan, choosing Sofia as the "centerpiece" and assuring her that her income as his hostess will mean she will no longer need to prostitute herself.

Although Jackson makes no sexual demands on Sofia and they have a relatively formal relationship for the year leading up to the Japanese attack, the two gradually reach toward each other. By the dramatic conclusion of the film, their private worlds are torn apart and they have found refuge with each other.

Except for Sofia, each character fantasizes about an ideal future:  the in-laws dream of a restored social life in Hong Kong with other aristocratic refugees, Katya dreams of a boat trip up the river to Soo Chow, Jackson dreams of the perfect bar, and Matsuda dreams of the glorious triumph of Japanese imperialism.  To the extent that Sofia dreams, however, it is only of the beauty and purity of the past.

Natasha Richardson had reverence for the character she played, describing Sofia as a woman of dignity and inner grace. Richardson gives life to those qualities in her sensitive portrayal. Among the most memorable is a sequence early on when another émigré, a younger man who had played tennis with Sofia during their teen years in Russia, comes to work in the bar where Sofia dances. He approaches her with great respect, almost awe, and before being hustled back to work by the bar manager, kisses her hand tenderly. This brings back memories to Sofia, and one feels the bittersweet longing set in motion by his tribute when, back home after the night's work, she dreams of Russia while waiting for her bed to be free.

In my view, a serious flaw in the film is the complete absence of Sofia's deceased husband from the story. There are no photographs, no memories of him, only a comment from an in-law that Sofia is bringing shame to his memory. A positive aspect is that there are no bedroom scenes or nudity. There are some unsavory goings-on in the various bars. These events seem integral to the story, however, and do not seem improper for viewing by adults. Obviously, the picture is not for children.

Satan Never Sleeps (1962)

Satan Never Sleeps is a 1962 motion picture directed by Leo McCarey and based on a novel by Protestant China missionary daughter, Pearl S. Buck. It was not a commercial success and it is easy to understand why.

The script uses the same light humor and silly interaction between a grumpy older priest (Fr. Bovard played by Clifton Webb) and a bumbling younger cleric (Fr. O'Banion played by William Holden) that worked in McCarey's Going My Way.  In this film, however, those antics fall flat because McCarey transposes them onto two incredibly serious and grim subjects -- the brutality with which the Chinese communists persecuted the Chinese Christians and Christian missionaries in the late 1940s, and the marriage of a woman to her rapist so that the child born of the rape will know his father.

A positive aspect of the film is that it accurately depicts such tragic events as the communists trashing the interior of the church, tearing down the crucifix, putting up Chairman Mao's picture where the crucifix used to be, and using the church for communist indoctrination sessions.  That is just what the Reds did many places in real life.

Another positive thing is that for the most part both priests are courageous.  And, Fr. O'Banion maintains his chastity despite being ardently pursued by a physically attractive and romantically aggressive young woman (Siu Lan played by France Nuyen).

Unfortunately, the film is riddled with such nonsense as a scene where Siu Lan smiles and waves flirtatiously at Fr. O'Banion while he is kneeling during a Mass offered by Fr. Bovard right after the priests discover that most of the Chinese Catholics have deserted the church in fear of the communists, who have just taken over the town.

Later, when a local ex-altar boy turned communist (Ho San played by Weaver Lee) rapes Siu Lan, it is such a jarring departure from all the silliness that it is as if one is watching a different movie.  And, when Ho San converts back to Catholicism after losing status with the communists for being too individualistic, one questions the sincerity of his re-conversion.

As if that transition did not make impossible demands on the viewer, Ho San then marries Siu Lan and when their baby is baptized by Fr. O'Banion, the silliness is reintroduced.  I found it offensive that this supposedly "happy ending" is treated with the same fluffiness as the conclusion of any television sit-com from the 1970s.

I would really like to see a new version of this film with the screenplay re-written as a drama that does justice to the very serious questions presented.  It might be quite good.  As it is, the only value the movie has is its accurate portrayal of Chinese communist atrocities and the heroic resistance of the Chinese Catholics, who tear down Mao's picture and try to raise the Cross again. For that I give the film three roses.

The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)

The Keys of the Kingdom is a black-and-white motion picture based on a novel of the same name by A.J. Cronin. It is the story of Fr. Francis Chisholm (Gregory Peck), a Scot who becomes a missionary priest serving in China beginning in the late 1800s.

When Francis Chisholm is a young boy, his father is attacked by an anti-Catholic mob. His mother tries to bring her wounded husband home and they both drown while crossing a river in a rainstorm.

After his parents' death, Francis Chisholm lives with distant relatives. With no plans of entering a seminary, he attends a Catholic college, Holywell, where he must work harder than most to comprehend and absorb his studies. He annoys his professors by asking questions about the Faith that they perceive as evidence of doubt. The dean of the college, Fr. Hamish MacNabb (Edmund Gwenn), however, understands and supports him.

Francis Chisholm has a girlfriend back home who fears he will decide to pursue the priesthood. When he is unable to leave the college for an entire year, she becomes despondent, goes downhill, bears a child out of wedlock, and dies. At this point, encouraged by Fr. MacNabb, Francis Chisholm decides perhaps God is calling him to be a priest.

After ordination, Fr. Chisholm fails at his first assignments because of his simplicity, frankness and lack of social skills. Meanwhile, his former dean, Fr. MacNabb, has become his bishop. Bishop McNabb calls Fr. Chisholm in for what the latter expects to be a reprimand. Instead, Bishop MacNabb offers him the challenging assignment of taking over a mission in China.

When Fr. Chisholm reaches the Chinese mission, he discovers that the church building has been destroyed and that the Chinese Catholics have all migrated to a Christian village some distance away.

The Wangs, an insincere Chinese couple claiming to be Catholic, try to manipulate Fr. Chisholm for financial gain. When he sees through their schemes, they turn on him. He opens a street chapel but is rejected and harassed by the Wangs and other locals.

Help comes first through an eager and resourceful young Chinese Catholic, Joseph (Benson Fong), who hears of Fr. Chisholm's arrival, comes in from the Christian village to offer assistance, and becomes a loyal ally. An elderly Chinese woman who knows she will soon die gives Fr. Chisholm and Joseph her tiny granddaughter, Anna, to care for and the three become a community of sorts.

Dr. Willie Tulloch (Thomas Mitchell), a hometown friend, sends Fr. Chisholm a case of medical supplies and instructions. Fr. Chisholm then offers free medical care to the townspeople but again he is rejected. When the son of the mandarin, Mr. Chia, is dying of an infection, however, the mandarin calls in Fr. Chisholm as a last resort.

Fr. Chisholm successfully treats the infection and the son survives. In gratitude, Mr. Chia gives Fr. Chisholm a large parcel of land where he can construct a new church and school. As the Catholic community is rebuilt, Fr. Chisholm requests that teaching sisters be sent from Europe. When they arrive, the patrician Austrian superior, Mother Maria Veronica (beautifully played by the director's wife, Rose Stradner), is put off by Fr. Chisholm's ways and treats him coldly.

During an attack on the town by imperial troops, a heroic act by Fr. Chisholm saves the town but he is left crippled in one leg. Finally, as an elderly man, he is called home to Scotland and given parish assignments where he is again in trouble for his forthrightness. At the conclusion of the film, he is understood by the chancery officials and is a grandfather of sorts to the son of the illegitimate child of his former girlfriend.

There is a great deal of humor in the film, especially in the antics of Joseph. The pace moves along nicely. More importantly, the motion picture presents the Church and the priesthood in a favorable light. Fr. Chisholm is soft spoken, dignified, dedicated, chaste, and courageous.

There is a lovely sequence in Bishop MacNabb's office when Fr. Chisholm kneels to kiss Bishop MacNabb's ring, then the bishop gets out a bottle of Scotch and they have a heart-to-heart talk during which the bishop offers Fr. Chisholm the assignment in China. When Fr. Chisholm accepts, the bishop gives the young Fr. Chisholm a token that symbolizes the bishop's paternal care.

The primary theme of the film is the virtue of humility. One of the ways that theme is beautifully developed is in the relationship between Fr. Chisholm and the aristocratic Mother Maria Veronica. During the story, Mother moves away from the pride she recognizes is her fatal flaw.

The change in Mother begins when the Wangs steal from one of the sisters. Mother has hired the Wangs despite Fr. Chisholm's warning about them. In a sacrificial act accomplished with a grace worthy of her noble breeding, Mother gives the sister in replacement for what was stolen a valuable crucifix that has been in her family for generations. At the same time, Mother's view of Fr. Chisholm begins to change. By the end of the story, they have come to love and respect one another.

No such character development occurs with Fr. Chisholm's hometown friend, Dr. Willie Tulloch. He is the prototype of the "good atheist" who possesses much natural virtue but trusts only in science, not in God. He comes to China to visit Fr. Chisholm and is fatally injured during the attack by the imperialist forces. He persists in his atheism even as he lies dying. His unrepentant death illustrates the limits of the natural virtues, which do not include humility. Fr. Chisholm prays tenderly for Dr. Tulloch, commending him to God's mercy.

During the course of the story, Fr. Chisholm's character as such does not change a great deal either. Rather, by the grace of God, he is placed in a setting where his gifts can best be utilized, and the change that takes place is the development to the fullest of those gifts.

This film can be viewed and enjoyed by persons of all ages. There is no impurity, vulgarity, or excessive violence. On the other hand, the story is at times slightly Modernist in its outlook. The phrase "keys of the kingdom" seems to refer to the virtues of humility and charity rather than the keys of St. Peter.  I give it four and a half roses.

Image:
Keys of the Kingdom video cover, from Wikimedia Commons. Copyrighted material. Fair use claimed.

Vatican Pressures Underground Chinese Bishop to Join Patriotic Association

As reported on October 29, 2009, "Sources told AsiaNews that after years in police custody Mgr An Shuxin [an underground bishop who was imprisoned for ten years] was torn about joining the CPCA [Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association]. Vatican and local sources confirm that the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (Propaganda Fide) put pressure on him . . . in the end, he obeyed the Vatican. Still, he was against joining the CPCA, an organisation that has arrested bishops and priests and shut down religious shrines, underground seminaries and communities for many years."

And despite the fact that he joined, the Patriotic Association "continues to monitor his movements, preventing him from taking part in conferences and meetings". . .

Meanwhile, three underground Chinese bishops, including Bishop Jia Zhiguo, remain "disappeared".

Read the rest of the story at Asia News.

Image:
Artistic depiction of the Chinese Martyrs (martyred 1648-1930)

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman and Curt Jergens, is a fictionalized account of the life of Gladys Aylward (1902-1970), an English parlor maid who became an evangelist in China.

The film is set in the early 1930's. Aylward is rejected by a missionary organization and decides to go to China on her own. She makes the trip to China via the Trans-Siberian Railway and then goes by mule to the city of Yangcheng, south of Beijing. There she helps an aging missionary, Jennie Lawson, open an inn that caters to mule team drivers. Lawson evangelizes the muleteers by telling them Bible stories as they eat meals prepared by Lawson's Chinese cook, Mr. Yang.

After Lawson dies as a result of a fall, Aylward continues alone, with the help of Yang. The local mandarin drafts Aylward as a foot-inspector to enforce the laws against foot-binding, which gives Aylward the income she needs to keep the inn open and the opportunity to evangelize in the countryside.

After establishing herself as a foot inspector and winning the trust of the mandarin, Aylward is called to the local prison during a bloody riot and -- in a breathtaking sequence -- resolves the conflict peacefully. She takes several rejected Chinese children into her home and becomes a Chinese citizen. Ultimately the mandarin converts to Christianity. After the town is attacked by the Japanese in the late 1930s during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Aylward leads a contingent of a hundred children over the mountains and across the Yellow River to safety -- a treacherous effort that takes twelve days.

This film is very enjoyable. It celebrates courage and determination. Not-so-good men are converted. The triumph of a rag-tag band of orphans over tremendous odds is appealing. And, there is a tender love story.

One might think that the film was more fiction than fact. It is true the story has been fictionalized, but apparently the essential facts are true, and in some respects the real story was even more dramatic than the film. In real life, Aylward did travel across Siberia by train, run the inn, become a foot inspector, adopt several children, befriend the mandarin, become a Chinese citizen, and lead 100 children in a 12-day trek over the mountains. The mandarin really did convert, and Aylward did have a romantic involvement with a Chinese Colonel, Lin Nan.

It is said that Aylward, a chaste and modest woman, was very unhappy when she heard that the film had love scenes. One can only suppose she never saw the movie, because the encounters between Aylward and Col. Lin are among the most chaste that Hollywood has ever produced.

When Aylward and Col. Lin stop by a river while traveling on horseback from one town to another, Lin tests Aylward by inviting her to go for a swim. Her reaction is a model of genuine purity, and Bergman portrays it with complete authenticity. When Lin then tells Aylward she is not at all like a man, this is not an effort to follow up his initial overture, but rather an admiring affirmation of her profound chastity.

There is a beautiful scene in a country inn where the guests sleep communally on the kang. Col. Lin settles himself on the other side of a little girl Aylward has just purchased for sixpence from a woman who was exploiting the girl (not her own child) as a tool for begging. From Lin's amazed and vigilant gaze at Aylward, one can see that Lin, embittered by painful experiences in his early life, is awakening to the realization that he has at last found a woman he can truly love.

Some time later, after the two have acknowledged their love in the garden of the mandarin, Col. Lin kisses Aylward's hands with a restrained ardor -- that of a manly man completely smitten with a brave, bright, and virtuous woman. Despite their mutual love, however, they agree that duty comes first: he must lead the local resistance against the Japanese invaders and she must lead the children to safety -- and that is what they proceed to do.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable film that does not wear out with repeated viewings.  There is no impurity or vulgarity.  Despite the violence of the prison scene (which should not be viewed by children), I give the film five roses.

Vatican Laments Arrest of Bishop Jia Zhiguo

The Vatican expresses "profound sadness" over the arrest Monday of Bishop Jia Zhiguo and the persecution of the Church in China.

The Arrest of Bishop Jia Zhiguo

From today's Asia News

The occasion on which the above photograph of Bishop Jia Zhiguo was taken is not known to this blogger.

Update on Dong Lu, Hebei, and the Persecuted Chinese Church

Today from Asia News: Persecution in China as Vatican Meeting on China Opens

Our Lady of China and the Shrine at Dong Lu

Although there are several images referred to as "Our Lady of China", according to the Cardinal Kung Foundation the painting above is the official depiction.

The story of the image is that in April, 1900, during the turmoil of the Boxer Rebellion when anti-foreign and anti-Christian sentiment was high, a force of many thousand rioters attacked the village of Dong Lu in Hebei province (near Beijing), where about seven hundred Christians dwelt.

The attackers started shooting skyward. Suddenly, however, they became frightened, turned tail, and fled. It was said that a woman in white appeared in the sky and an unknown horseman chased away the assailants. The priest, Father Wu, explained that he had appealed to Our Lady for help. This event was then commemorated with the painting of Our Lady clad in imperial robes.

In 1928, Pope Pius XI promulgated the image as Our Lady of China. This followed a request from the first national conference of the bishops of China in 1924. The apostolic nuncio to China, Archbishop Celso Costantini (later a Cardinal), along with the bishops of China, dedicated the Chinese people to Our Lady of China.

Pilgrims began coming to the shrine at Dong Lu in 1924. The first official pilgrimage took place in 1929. And, in 1932, Pope Pius XI approved Dong Lu as a official Marian shrine.

The church at Dong Lu that was home to the image was destroyed. Sources differ as to whether the destruction was by Japanese artillery fire in 1941 during World War II or by the Chinese Communists. According to Zsolt Aradi, writing in 1954, the picture was saved because the original was hidden in a wall, and it was by then in the possession of priests of the underground church.

In 1992, the shrine was rebuilt as a very large church with a statue of Our Lady and the Infant Jesus wearing imperial clothing, as in the painting.

Because of the papal approval of Dong Lu, Chinese Catholics view a pilgrimage there as an expression of fidelity to Rome. The shrine was a popular destination for thousands of faithful and hundreds of priests from all over China, especially during the month of May.

In May, 1995, many thousand pilgrims converged on Dong Lu for the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians. On the vigil of that feast on May 23, 1995, several unusual events occurred in the sky in the presence of 30,000 pilgrims. The next day the government intervened, forcing the pilgrims' departure on buses and trains. The local bishop subsequently certified the events as an apparition.

In 1996, the government forbade pilgrimages to Dong Lu, and in May, 1996, utilized some 5,000 troops to enforce the prohibition. It is said that at that time the government confiscated the statue.

In 2004, Asia News reported that the prohibition on pilgrimages had been in force ever since. That year, police had warned the inhabitants of Dong Lu not to conduct formal ceremonies and banned them from offering hospitality to pilgrims. An underground bishop related that just a few pilgrims had managed to get past the security controls and they had only been able to pray privately and not at the site. According to the underground bishop, the police stopped outsiders from entering the village at any time, but the security controls were even tighter during Mary's month.

May we never forget our persecuted brothers and sisters in China!

Sources:
The Cardinal Kung Foundation - Online newsletters for Christmas 2002; July 2004; and "Did You Know?"
Asia News online - Article on May 27, 2004 and another on the same date.
Aradi, Shrines of Our Lady Around the World; Farrar, Strauss, and Young (1954), pp. 139-140, via Catholic Culture online library.