I remember when I saw Charlton Heston part the Red Sea. I was about eight years old, sitting in my grandmother’s living room, and Cecille B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments was playing on network TV, as it did every year. I grew up going to church every week (several times a week, in fact), so I knew the plot of the movie. I thought it was gorgeous, visually, and the actors were all very good at saying things in loud and dramatic voices. That’s about all I needed as a kid. There were more big-time films of this type over the years, of course, including The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Passion of the Christ, as well as various yearly TV events with names like Moses, Jeremiah, and Jesus.
I’ll be right up front with you about this, gang. I get a little uncomfortable when I see big-budget films with names like that. Maybe it has to do with my crazy lefty politics or my personal enforcement of separation of church and entertainment. But, although I might not personally enjoy or seek out such films, I know I’m probably not their target audience.
There is an audience for films like these, though, and they are often happy consumers. And why not? I have no trouble putting down money for things that embrace an agnostic point of view or openly mock religion. If I can watch what I want, why can’t the church-going family down the street? (Maybe I wish they’d also watch a film about another faith, too, but that’s another article I have yet to write.)
All this being said, I would like to commend the Art Theater Co-Op for opening their doors to St. John’s Catholic Newman Center, who are sponsoring a screening of the film Restless Heart: The Confessions of Augustine this Thursday, April 18. One of the best things about the Art, as a local institution, is that they maintain their focus on the local. And the C-U community is made up of so many different people. For every “adult” my age who wants to watch Ghostbusters on the big screen, there is a foreign film buff who wants to see Tabu. For every Anglophile or theatre lover who wants to see a British stage play, there is a hipster who wants to see The Room for the seventh time. And for all those, there are people who see The Room for the seventh time and then have to get up super early for church the next morning.
Those of you who aren’t familiar with Restless Heart: The Confessions of Augustine, needn’t worry: you’re not alone. And don’t bother looking the film up on IMDB, because it’s not there. At least not under its current title.
What you will find is a TV movie called Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire. 
This is a Canadian production from a couple of years ago made in the vein of the many Bible-themed TV projects that continue to show up on American networks. The History Channel’s recent The Bible miniseries is just one of many such faith-based entertainment ventures in recent years. (Remember The Bible…? Produced by the guy who created Survivor and featuring a “Satan” that looked eerily like President Barack Obama? If you missed it, never fear. It’s out on DVD now, and I hear there’s a book adaptation.)
Anyway, back to St. Augustine.
Restless Heart is, according to its website press materials, “the true story of Augustine of Hippo — one of the Catholic Church’s most beloved and well-known Saints.” In the film, Augustine is seen first as a young man pursuing fame and fortune without much of a moral compass. It is when he discovers faith that he changes his life and becomes the prominent man the church now celebrates. Oh, and he helped lay the foundation for a lot of what became Europe. That, too.
Despite any skepticism I might have about films with a clear religious agenda (and boy do I ever), I have to admit that the film hosts an eclectic and funky cast that intrigues even a heathen like me.
For starters, can we just say the name Franco Nero and get it out there? That’s right, Django himself (the original Italian gunslinger) plays the aged Augustine. Those of 
you saying, “Wait, I thought Django was a cool black dude,” aren’t wrong, just young. Nero, who originated the role in the Sergio Corbucci shoot-em-up, was discovered by legendary director John Huston and went on to have a forty-plus year career in film, largely in Europe. Cinephiles like Quentin Tarantino have long adored Nero for his seminal work in those Italian westerns, leading to roles in films like Tarantino’s Django Unchained this past year.
In addition to Franco Nero, Restless Heart also features many lesser-known European actors, among them stage actors, Italian TV stars, recording artists, and … are you ready? The guy who played Paolo on Friends. (That would be Cosimo Fusco, for those of you who don’t have that knowledge on the tip of your brain.)
All snarkiness aside (and I am genuinely happy about Franco Nero), the director of this film is nobody to sniff at. Canadian director Christian Duguay has directed a number of theatrical and television film projects, including Screamers (featuring eternally cool cat Peter Weller), The Art of War (featuring martial arts wild man Wesley Snipes), and Coco Chanel (featuring Shirley MacLaine, who is slightly more dangerous than Wesley Snipes). He also won a Directors Guild of Canada Craft Award and a Gemini Award for directing Human Trafficking, a 2005 TV dramatic miniseries starring Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland. While I realize none of these films are in the same league acclaim- or box office-wise as something by Spielberg or Cameron, most people don’t get to direct expensive movies with expensive movie starts, so let’s be polite, shall we?
Restless Heart is presented by the Service & Justice Outreach ministry at St. John’s Catholic Newman Center. The final showing will be at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and all tickets must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door, and no credit cards will be accepted. Checks should be payable to Service and Justice Outreach. Per the St. John’s Catholic Newman Center website: “Benefits will help provide a refrigeration system for our university students’ food pantry.”
For more information about this event, contact Sr. Maryann Schaefer by email.
View the trailer for Restless Heart and check out the Art website for more information.