A New Film Pays Fitting Tribute To The Christian Martyr Of Auschwitz
Like any truly beautiful story, Triumph of the Heart breaks you out of this world, leaving an indelible impression with its message of sacrificial love.Like any truly beautiful story, Triumph of the Heart breaks you out of this world, leaving an indelible impression with its message of sacrificial love.'Triumph of the Heart': An unflinching depiction of what it means to follow Christ
The current landscape of Christian cinema is more desert than garden. Too many films settle for pandering and saccharine depictions of the faith, as if doing the bare minimum to attract what they assume is a captive audience. Meanwhile, moviegoers thirst for stories that challenge them with reality of the Christian life.
With the success of "Sound of Freedom," "The Shift," and "Cabrini," Angel Studios has shown that viewers will show up for more nuanced, high-quality fare, but most "faith-based" films still seem content to take as little risk as possible.
As Kolbe, Marcin Kwaśny embodies an ordinary man who makes the extraordinary decision to pick up his cross and follow Christ, whatever the consequences.
This was all in my mind as I attended the premiere of "Triumph of the Heart." I wasn't sure what to expect; word of mouth has been strong, but would it live up to the hype? I'm happy to answer that question with a resounding yes.
Greater love hath no man ...
"Triumph of the Heart" tells the incredible true story of the Polish Catholic priest and newspaper publisher who would become Saint Maximilian Kolbe (Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1982). Arrested and sent to Auschwitz in 1941, Kolbe volunteers to take the place of a prisoner condemned along with nine others to die in the camp's starvation cell.
As the men cope with despair, starvation, and ideological division, Kolbe's humanity and their shared Polish identity forge a brotherhood that allows them to face down evil and die with honor.
A humble saint
Not since Paul Roland’s "Exemplum" have I seen such a truthful and realistic depiction of Catholicism. These characters are far from perfect, and that includes Kolbe himself. He smokes, he has regrets, he makes mistakes. But he’s also relentlessly hopeful, courageous, and brave in his faith in Jesus Christ, which empowers him to be a source of light for his fellow cellmates who struggle to maintain their dignity.
This is no sanitized depiction of sainthood. As Kolbe, Marcin Kwaśny embodies an ordinary man who makes the extraordinary decision to pick up his cross and follow Christ, whatever the consequences.
The weight of despair
The actors playing the other prisoners are equally astounding, making you feel the weight of their despair and claustrophobia in the confinement of the hellish, one-window bunker.
Especially impressive is Rowan Polonski’s Albert, who gets the film’s central arc. As he mourns the life with his wife that he passed up to fight in the war, he struggles to accept the inevitability of death and resist the temptation of suicide. It's a dark but layered portrayal of suffering that took me aback like nothing I've ever seen in a Christian film.
RELATED: Father Maximilian Kolbe: A man who lived, and died, for truth
As camp commandant Karl Fritzsch, the man who condemns the prisoners to death, Christopher Sherwood makes a chilling antagonist. But the more deadly foe is Satan himself. He never shows up, except for some artistic shots of a snake peppered throughout the third act, but his presence is tangible as the heroes grapple with despair. All of which makes Kolbe's admonition to “finish the race” (as seen in the movie's trailer) ring with such emotional power as they reject Satan and embrace the hard way out.
Trusting in God
Writer/director Anthony D'Ambrosio has created a deeply Catholic film. That D'Ambrosio himself struggled with anxiety and insomnia while bringing this story to life comes as no surprise; this is a movie that exudes the painful uncertainty that comes with trusting in God's plan.
"Triumph of the Heart" is also a triumph for Christian/Catholic cinema, a profoundly moving examination of the suffering that often accompanies the pursuit of holiness. I can only hope its example inspires other filmmakers to bring the full richness of the Christian faith to the big screen; the possibilities are endless. For now, go see "Triumph of the Heart." The hype is real.
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WWE apologizes for accidentally using Auschwitz footage during WrestleMania promo
During a promotional video for a match at WrestleMania 39, World Wrestling Entertainment accidentally used footage of the Auschwitz concentration camp in a compilation of jails and prisons, subsequently apologizing and removing the footage from future broadcasts.
According to outlet Wrestling Attitude, during "WrestleMania Night 1," the company used footage of the camp in then-Nazi-occupied Poland to promote a match between father and son adversaries Rey and Dominik Mysterio.
The wrestling website states that the match was heavily promoted in the weeks leading up to the event, with the son adopting the character called "Prison Dom" after spending a night in jail, harassing his father until he agreed to wrestle him at the WWE's biggest annual event.
\u201cSomeone in the WWE tried to find prison footage for Dominik Mysterio's "hard time" video and ended up using footage of what I'm pretty sure is the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. It ran during the WrestleMania kickoff.\u201d— Aaron Wrotkowski (@Aaron Wrotkowski) 1680394155
Despite having the "most successful WrestleMania of all time," the company apologized and removed the footage from tapings.
"We had no knowledge of what was depicted," the WWE said in statement to NBC News.
"As soon as we learned, it was removed immediately. We apologize for this error," the company added. The outlet noted that the spokesman said the WWE took immediate action once the error was flagged.
The footage was reportedly replaced with generic images of jails with barbed wire.
The Auschwitz Memorial Museum called the use of the footage into question, saying in a statement on Twitter that the WWE was "exploiting" the location.
"The fact that Auschwitz image was used to promote a WWE match is hard to call 'an editing mistake'. Exploiting the site that became a symbol of enormous human tragedy is shameless and insults the memory of all victims of Auschwitz," the museum said.
\u201cThe fact that Auschwitz image was used to promote a WWE match is hard to call "an editing mistake". Exploiting the site that became a symbol of enormous human tragedy is shameless and insults the memory of all victims of Auschwitz.\nhttps://t.co/b4bbYgWPwj\u201d— Auschwitz Memorial (@Auschwitz Memorial) 1680680849
The wrestling giant boasted about its event in a press release, citing over 500 million views over two days, a 42% increase over 2022.
The company also says the event saw over $20 million in revenue, doubling the previous record, and sold the most merchandise ever at the event, along with a record-setting gate of $21.6 million.
\u201c#WrestleMania 39 smashed records across the board.\n\nThank you to the @WWEUniverse at @SoFiStadium and around the world for helping us create the most successful @WrestleMania of all time.\u201d— Triple H (@Triple H) 1680534868
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Whoopi Goldberg tries damage control over 'incredibly ignorant' Holocaust comments — but people aren't buying it
Whoopi Goldberg apologized Tuesday after once again making eyebrow-raising comments about the Holocaust that generated intense backlash.
This is not the first time Goldberg faced criticism for controversial remarks about the Holocaust. In February, Goldberg was temporarily suspended from "The View" after she declared the Holocaust was "not about race."
What did Goldberg say?
In an interview with the Times of London, Goldberg downplayed the racial component of the Holocaust. First, she relayed an anecdote from an alleged Jewish friend.
"My best friend said, ‘Not for nothing is there no box on the census for the Jewish race. So that leads me to believe that we’re probably not a race,'" Goldberg told the newspaper.
When challenged on her claims, Goldberg then insisted that the Holocaust was not "originally" about the Jewish race and appeared to criticize Jews for having believed what Nazis, whom she called "the oppressor," told Jews about themselves.
"Remember who they were killing first. They were not killing racial; they were killing physical," Goldberg claimed. "They were killing people they considered to be mentally defective. And then they made this decision."
Goldberg doubled down when the reporter interviewing her then reminded her the Nazi regime develop tests to "prove" Jewish ancestry.
"They did that to black people too," Goldberg responded. "But it doesn’t change the fact that you could not tell a Jew on a street. You could find me. You couldn’t find them."
What was the response?
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, sharply condemned Goldberg's "deeply offensive and incredibly ignorant" remarks in a statement on Tuesday.
"Whoopi Goldberg’s comments about the Holocaust and race are deeply offensive and incredibly disappointing, especially given that this is not the first time she had made remarks like this," Greenblatt said. "In a moment when anti-Semitic incidents have surged across the U.S., she should realize that making such ignorant statements can have real consequences."
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, meanwhile, responded by tweeting a passage from a letter that Adolf Hitler wrote in 1919. In that letter, Hitler declared that "Jews are definitely a race," condemning them as an "alien race, unable and unwilling to sacrifice its racial distinctiveness."
\u201cExcerpt from Adolf Hitler\u2019s letter on \u2018the dangers currently presented by Jewry to our nation\u2019 from 16 September 1919. \n\nThis text is one of the first major statements made by Hitler with regard to the Jewish question.\u201d— Auschwitz Memorial (@Auschwitz Memorial) 1672080884
Did Goldberg apologize?
Goldberg claimed in a statement on Tuesday that her words were essentially taken out of context, saying she was only recounting the comments that earned her a suspension — not doubling down on them.
The statement said, according to Rolling Stone:
It was never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in. I’m still learning a lot and believe me, I heard everything everyone said to me. I believe that the Holocaust was about race, and I am still as sorry now as I was then that I upset, hurt and angered people.
My sincere apologies again, especially to everyone who thought this was a fresh rehash of the subject. I promise it was not. In this time of rising antisemitism, I want to be very clear when I say that I always stood with the Jewish people and always will. My support for them has not wavered and never will.
Greenblatt, however, did not buy the excuse.
"We appreciate Whoopi’s apology and acknowledgment of the hurt her words caused," he responded. "But this is the 2nd time she's made spurious and offensive remarks about the Holocaust and race, and after reading @thetimes interview, it’s hard to imagine her words were being taken out of context."
\u201cWe appreciate Whoopi\u2019s apology and acknowledgment of the hurt her words caused. But this is the 2nd time she's made spurious and offensive remarks about the Holocaust and race, and after reading @thetimes interview, it\u2019s hard to imagine her words were being taken out of context.\u201d— Jonathan Greenblatt (@Jonathan Greenblatt) 1672241930
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