Mass of the Ages: Discover the Traditional Latin Mass

An excellent documentary, the beginning of a trilogy which encapsulates perfectly the present moment in history. An excellently filmed, edited and planned documentary which plays more as a narrative and a mood piece. The direction of Cameron O'Hearn shines here as the cinematography of Thomas Shannon elevates the picture. Mixing both a heartfelt story of a widow, and an introduction of the beauty and theology of the latin mass, this film strikes a balance in the narrative while having the two elements meet, as the widow finds meaning in the subtleties of the mass. This film was the right film at the right time. Coming directly after restrictions, this film provided hope for Latin mass attendees and introduced it to so many more.

Simply put, I am grateful for this film, it is a blessing.

I was looking forward to this documentary. I'm a fan of Scott Hahn and I've recently begun looking into getting back to my roots by exploring the latin mass.

But I think the director and writer lost their way here. The central focus of this movie was on the heartbreak that a young mother suffered after the loss of her husband. Perhaps this would have worked as a small segment regarding how her faith helped her through this, but as the central focus of the entire movie it was out of place in context with the theme which, I thought, was supposed to be the latin mass. The tragedy dominated too much of the movie and appeared to be solely for the effect of continual drama - something many directors and writers love, often to the detriment of a movie. Everything else took a back seat, and the purpose of the documentary - the latin mass - became quite lost as a result.

I definitely would not watch this again, it served little purpose other than to make you feel horrible from the opening to the end. It served little purpose, mainly because when tragedy strikes it's often faith that helps someone through it, be that Catholic, Protestant, or any other doctrine of faith. The latin mass isn't special in this regard. If they think it is then they sure missed the mark depicting this.

I'm hoping the next two installments in the trilogy stay better focused on the subject matter.