Based on a novella by Denis Johnson, ‘Train Dreams’ immerses us in the ordinary life of Robert Grainier in order to gesture at the extraordinary.
John Dougherty
John Dougherty is the director of mission and ministry at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pa.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
‘Cinema Paradiso’ and the sacrament of cinema
For the 100th Catholic Movie Club column, a film about finding grace in the movie theater.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
A tale of innocence and courage at a Catholic school in Nazi-occupied France
“Au Revoir les Enfants” has been highlighted by the Vatican for its depiction of Christian values.
Posted inFilm
Madwoman or prophet? ‘The Testament of Anne Lee’ presents a radical and threatening faith
To outsiders, Ann Lee was a madwoman, a dangerous nonconformist and a sexual deviant; but to her faithful, “Mother Ann” was the promise of God fulfilled.
Posted inInterviews
Interview: ‘Knives Out’ director Rian Johnson on the Catholic inspiration for ‘Wake Up Dead Man’
Rian Johnson spoke with America about his own experience with faith and the Catholic stories that inspired his latest ‘Knives Out’ mystery.
Posted inFilm
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ review: A whodunnit with a surprising message about priesthood
“Wake Up Dead Man” leaves us with an important question once the mystery has been solved: What sort of church do we want, led by what kind of shepherds?
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
Holiday watch: ‘Household Saints,’ a film about food, family and faith
“Household Saints” is a story about how culture, and especially faith, evolve through the different generations of an immigrant family.
Posted inFilm
The dark, indelible Catholic imagination in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’
The most surprising thing about Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” is that he hadn’t already made it.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
Hitchcock’s ‘I Confess’: a classic Catholic noir about the seal of confession
While considered a minor work in Hitchcock’s filmography and the annals of film noir, “I Confess” is Hitchcock’s most explicitly Catholic film.
Posted inTelevision
HBO’s ‘Task’ is tense, exciting, dark—and the most Catholic TV show of the season
The most Catholic TV show of 2025 is a gritty crime drama set outside of Philadelphia. HBO’s “Task,” which recently concluded its seven-episode run, was a tale of cops and robbers, with a gang of vicious bikers thrown in for good measure. It was, as you might expect, tense and exciting and often very dark. […]