Cabrini in the slums of New York

 when the movie Gangs of New York came out, it was about the Irish trying to survive against prejudice in the slums of NYC. 

The irony? A lot of the stars and the director (Martin Scorsese)  were Italian, and they saw it as their story too, because a generation later it was the Italians facing poverty and prejudice.

Fast forward a generation: and the movie Cabrini tells the stories of those Italian immigrants via the bio of a nun, Mother Cabrini, who helped the Italians of the next generation of immigrants by building schools, hospitals and orphanages at a time when Italians were seen as different, and even the Catholic church was not especially welcoming these Italians, whose approach to church and religion was quite different.

That is the background of the recently released film Cabrini.

Like the previous film from Angel Studio Sound of Freedom, about a rogue US cop working with the Colombian police to stop child trafficking, this film shows people willing to face obstacles to help those who often languish in the shadows.

And unlike the usual religious themed pap one sees promoted with cardboard characters, this one breaks all the cliches of the left and right: because it is pro feminist, pro immigrant, and pro Christian.

Cabrini reminds one that the problems faced by immigrants is nothing new, and indeed a lot of what is being said about the Italians in the film is the exact same thing is being said right now about immigrants on right wing discussion boards. They are different, they dilute the race, they will never assimilate, they will never become true Americans because their culture/religion is different from the good folk of America.

So the film is countercultural, in a Catholic way. 

And quite well done: the actress playing Mother Cabrini Cristiana Dell'Anna should win an award for her role.

But of course she won't: Because this will be ignored because the woke hate religion. 

And I have already read bad reviews by religious reviewers saying it isn't religious enough, because the deep belief in God that inspires Mother Cabrini is not shoved into your face with pious platitudes.

Sigh

In many ways it is a Catholic film: Because when confronted with poverty, sickness, or the other miseries of life, the approach of Catholicism (and indeed that of mainstream Christianity) is to go out and help. For most of us this is done in the circle of one's family and neighbors (50 million caregivers can't be wrong) or if one is lucky enough to work in the helping professions (nurses, teachers, social workers) it is done by direct action.

Not as glamourous as protesting but hey, it is real and meaningful.

with the unregulated influx of immigrants and refugees all over the world, the problems Cabrini confronted are going on right now in many countries.

In some ways, the refugees will have it easier in the USA than in other countries because the Yanks have been there before.

I had to laugh at the end of the film when Cabrini reminds the mayor that maybe the powers that be might see her as a trouble maker, and the Italians as unwanted outsiders, but in the future that Italians could very well run the city as the Irish were doing at the time: and even reminding him those Italians she is helping are proud Americans and they vote

('shades of Bill Murray).

something the Republicans might want to remember.

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update: Hollywood vs history discusses the film and how close it is to reality (hint: some of the characters are fictional amalgams of several real people).