Mère Teresa de Calcutta

Making a film about a religious figure is a perilous enterprise, particularly if the person involved is still alive or recently dead, and even more so when she is one of the outstanding personalities of the twentieth century.

Happily this movie has managed to steer very effectively between the opposing dangers of cynicism and over-the-top enthusiasm which are the hallmarks of most religious movies. They have stuck very firmly to the facts, while allowing the personality of Mother Teresa to shine through, effectively revealing her powerful faith, her amazing strength, her heroic charity and self-sacrifice, but also her moments of doubt, weakness and vulnerability.

There are few really great religious movies. This could have been one of them.

The production is superb, the direction and the acting excellent, and Olivia Hussey does a magnificent job in a very difficult role. What spoils it is the structure: a series of excellent parts which do not really make a very coherent whole. The producers have tried to do too much, to include too many incidents, and as a result the storyline is sadly lacking in continuity.

I see from the IMDb notes that the Italian running time is 180 minutes, almost 40% longer than the English language version. Perhaps the problem lies with the editing, and the longer version does a much better job. All I can say is that they should have opted for doing some bits of Mother Teresa's story extremely well rather than attempting the whole thing and botching it.

Wow, what a nice story what a nice movie! It exceeded my expectations. Most "religous" don't have the funding for first-class production values, but this one must have because it looks great.

That beautiful photography throughout the 115 minutes was one of the two biggest reasons I enjoyed watching this. The other was the number of profound truths said by Mother Teresa (Olivia Hussey). This was an inspiring film with some great statements. By the way, those production values included decent acting, too, at least by all of the adults. Some of the kids were so-so, but they didn't have many lines anyway.

What I appreciated what that the filmmakers did not water down the Christian aspect of Mother Teresa's life. Everything she said and did was for God's glory, as she states several times, owning trying to please Jesus. Obviously, she succeeded like few others have with an amazing compassion and selfless attitude. There is no ego here, no pride, only what she can do for the sick and poverty-stricken.

This movie can be enjoyed by all. You don't have be a Catholic. I'm not, and I have total respect for Mother Teresa and cannot find fault with anything she said or did. For Believers, this should inspire them to act a little more Christ-like. For non-believers, this story is a great example for anyone who simply needs a nudge to go help someone less fortunate. There is no heavy-handing "preaching," either, for those concerned about that matter.

This is simply a quality film about an extremely quality person whose life should inspire all of us to become better people. This film did a great job in that respect.

This film is so fantastic. Olivia's portrayal is outstanding! She plays it in such a real unaffected way, really a masterful performance! The film's two most beautiful characteristics, in my opinion, are that it's not a big-budget Hollywood film. It's simple, straightforward and inspiring: which in my opinion is, the way Mother Teresa would have wanted it. And, even though you think it won't, it has this internal power to make you weep when you look around and see the state of the world, and if there were only more people like this in the world, it would be a much better place. See this film. I guarantee you it will inspire you to be a better person.

Olivia Hussey has done a great job portraying Mother Teresa in this biopic. Her voice and mannerisms match those that Mother Teresa had. The production values are top notch. The DVD looks excellent on HDTV and the sound track is well scored. Though it wasn't actually filmed in Calcutta - the Shri Lankan locations used have a similar feel and atmosphere. The story focuses on Mother Teresa's struggle with the church leadership to move out to work with the poorest of the poor. A first for a nun - in a city like Calcutta. It deals with her motivation, not in a preachy way. I was moved to tears a couple of times while watching ... felt that the production as a whole was powerful and moving.

The film is very dull with horrible dubbing for children and side characters that would cause me to burst out laughing and would take me out of the film the acting was really corny and when addressing the controversies and focuses on her just building a big home and than shaming families who lost all there money.