Luz de Soledad

A serious and decent biography about Saint Soledad Torres Acosta, founder of the Congregation of the Religious Servants of Mary. An enjoyable if somewhat slow-burning biopic, it starts with Olga (Eva Higueras), she is an only daughter who must take care of her father, Mr. Arturo (Julio Lázaro) , an irascible man of a hard character who suffers from illnesess. Exhausted by her job at the law firm, she needs someone to look after her at night and she calls to the last person her father wants to see: Sister Inés (Susana Sucena) , a nun, Servant of Mary. The film narrates the beginnings of the Servants of Mary, a religious institution by inspiration of the priest Father Miguel Martinez (Carlos Cañas) and that Soledad Torres Acosta (Laura Contreras) guided in its development and expansion until her death in 1887. At the beginning Soledad live with her parents (Lolita Flores, Antonio Castro) , she then discovers her religious vocation and entered a convent as a novice against the rigid opposition of her father. These are difficult years in which Mother Soledad and their Servants of Mary are facing revolutions, starvation, epidemics and religious persecutions, including the ineffable Mendizabal disentailment. The Servants of Mary is a religious institution founded in Madrid in 1851, inspired by the priest Miguel Martínez, which Soledad Torres Acosta guided in its development and expansion. When Father Miguel is forcibly transferred to Fernando Poo, Soledad takes over the leadership of the order. The Servants of Mary were the first certified nurses in Spain. Soledad Torres Acosta was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

The feature film focuses on Laura Contreras playing adequately Manuela/Soledad and her mission of protecting the sick, poor, orphans and disadvantaged people, describing her efforts, struggles and evangelization throughout her life, those first ideas, those first projects, and social help through domestic palliative and preferably nocturnal care for patients, acquiring different roots and personal development. The film narrates the beginnings of the Servants of Mary, a religious institution originated in Madrid in 1851 and that Soledad Torres Acosta guided in its development and expansion until his death in 1887. Depicting appropriately the difficult years in which Mother Soledad and their Servants of Mary are facing all kinds of hardships and misfortunes to achieve their philanthropic goals.

The film faithfully narrates her ambitions, dreams, goals and activities, seed sown in good soil that will bear much fruit. Its first protagonist is portrayed by the unknown Laura Contreras who provides a good as well as pleasant interpretation as Soledad, a tenacious and innovative woman who opens paths in the field of healing and palliative care of ill people. Her performance is full of vitality and enthusiasm.

The film's protagonist, Laura Contreras, says she went to the Home of the Servants of Mary in Madrid to research and learn more about the figure of Mother Soledad Torres Acosta, whom she played, and learn how to "be a nun" to translate that into her role. She explains that this was her first role in a historical religious film, and it felt "foreign" to her. "At first, I was quite fearful because it was an unknown world for me. But as I began to see the character, what I did was focus on her as a woman who goes through a series of things. I got a lot of help from the Servants of Mary, I worked a lot with them, I observed them," she explains. "They told me 'ask us anything,' and I didn't hold back; I asked them all my questions."

The biographical story was convincingly written and directed by Pablo Moreno. It is worth thanking the effort and will with which Pablo Moreno executes his works. He usually has low or medium budgets but manages to skillfully direct decent films, narrated in a simple way, with good sets and an adequate development. He mostly uses unknown actors who give memorable performances, although it usually features two well-known actresses, the veteran Lolita Flores and her real daughter Elena Furiase. Pablo also made other religious, biographical and reflection films, ¨Pablo De Tarso¨, ¨Alba¨, ¨A un Dios Prohibido¨, ¨Guadalupe: Madre de la Humanidad¨ and this ¨Luz de soledad¨. And another movie in similar style : ¨La sirvienta The Maid¨ (2023) about the founder of the Religious of Mary Immaculate. This order was dedicated to administering to "working girls", or young women in domestic employment, and she considered these maids and other domestic servants to be in need of care and protection, with particular emphasis on abused girls.¨Luz de soledad¨ rating: 7/10. Better than average due to the good feeling, high spirit and human brotherhood that the entire film exudes.

EWTN just ran this film as one of their weekly Saturday night movies and it is one of the most inspirational films that I have ever seen. A young woman is called to serve the poor and the sick and dying during a cholera epidemic. Sister Soledad founded the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick in Spain in the 1800s. Other women joined the order against almost impossible odds. They often worked without food and had little sleep. The actors are excellent and the story well told with flashbacks from a modern day nun telling a bed ridden man in her care about the founding of the order . With all the negativity In today's world of greed, hatred and materialism, this uplifting movie is a much needed respite and I highly recommend it.