Two Crowns: a Review

Last year, I reviewed Polish director Michal Kondrat’s fine docudrama, Love and Mercy, the life story of St. Faustina – she of the Divine Mercy image and chaplet. I liked it, even though there were aspects of the film I found unsatisfying. Still, I was able to write: “please, see this film, because it explains why Divine Mercy Sunday and its chaplet are so important.”

Several years before, Mr. Kondrat directed another docudrama about St. Maximilian Kolbe called Two Crowns, and – although I like this film less – I still urge TCT readers to keep an eye out for it, and, in fact, Fathom Events has the film in theaters TODAY only. (It will be available on disc or to stream soon.)

The story of Fr. Kolbe is even more remarkable and dramatic than Sr. Faustina’s.

What then is my gripe about Two Crowns? Let me start by recalling a third film with a Polish setting, one I truly loved: Anne Fontaine’s The Innocents. I won’t go into detail about that great motion picture, except to say that it’s about a Polish convent ravaged by Soviet soldiers in 1945. I mention it here because the film was shot in two languages: Polish and French and then subtitled in English. Love and Mercy was mostly in English and used subtitles for those speaking Polish.

Click here to read the rest of Mr. Miner’s review at The Catholic Thing . . .