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| New Advent Film Series Classic: All the Light We Cannot See |
In this time of darkness, of invading cities, I'm trying to remember light lasts forever. Darkness lasts not even for one second when you turn on the light. + Marie-Laure LeBlanc, All the Light We Cannot See
Take a moment to soak in the image above.
A young girl listening to a message.
Fierce, yet vulnerable.
Scathed, yet strong.
Blind in her human limitations.
A young girl listening to a message.
Fierce, yet vulnerable.
Scathed, yet strong.
Blind in her human limitations.
Yet staring down the darkness.
She seeks for the light to break through.
She embdies faith that war can be stopped.
Even as she sits bloodied and bruised from its violent onslaught.
This is Marie. And this is her Magnificat:
In this time of stupid darkness, in this time of ridiculous old men invading cities, stealing whole towns like bullying children stealing toys, I thought I would try to remember some of the things the professor said, and share them because he spoke always about light.
I don't speak as well as the professor did, but I'll still try. He said that the light that comes when you burn coal or charcoal or peat, he said the light you get from a piece of coal is actually sunlight.
The point is light lasts forever, for a billion years inside a piece of coal, but darkness lasts not even for one second when you turn on the light.
The professor sounds like rabbis who shared similar messages in times of war, oppression, and darkness to point us to what's good in the face of evil:
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. + Isaiah 9:2
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. + John 1:5
On November 2, 2023, Netflix unveiled the long-awaited miniseries, All the Light We Cannot See, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr released in 2014 to broad acclaim, including reviews like "one of the most beautiful and enchanting novels I've ever read; the writing is just exquisite."
It's the story of Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French teenager, who in the midst of attempting to survive Nazi-occupied France during 1944, defies an empire by illegally broadcasting a story of hope across the airwaves. She lives in Saint-Malo, a strategic coastal city in Word War II. Not only does she speak of the light she learned from her teacher, she also secretly provides the locations for where the Nazi bases are throughout the city so that the gates of the city can be reopened to welcome freedom and victory back for the people.
I don't think there has been a better film or series released this year (or in recent years) that reflects the themes of Advent so fully. Listen to these words from another teacher:
The Advent themes of conflict, darkness, militant witness, and expectant waiting for the coming of Christ in the last day deeply engage us with Jesus and His story in the Scriptures during this season when 'The end is not yet' (Mark 13:7).
We live, as cannot be said too often in Advent, in the Time Between, the time of waiting and the time of hope, the time of enduring patiently and resisting the 'works of darkness' in the power of the One Who Comes (ho erchomenos — Revelation 1:8).
+ Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ
As Marie waits for her father, she hopes.
As the bombs go off around her, she hopes.
As she sends secret messages, she hopes.
As she resists despair, she hopes.
In Saint-Malo (i.e. meaning town of "holy hostage of bright beauty"), this Mary (Marie) defies evidence to the contrary that she is blind to the reality of the world, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. In an evil time, she is the one who embodies these words with her actions against the Nazi empire:
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy.
+ Magnificat: Divine Song of Protest (Luke 1:51b-54)
Once again, a teenage girl with a message of hope dares to change the world, dares to believe in what can't be seen (yet).
I was deeply moved by this series. And I was deeply moved that the day I finished it I was introduced (a providential gift from God for such a time as this?) to a German Advent song I had never heard before, "Maria durch ein Dornwald ging". This powerful hymn begins with these words:
Dear Mary journeys through the thorn. Kyrie eleison! ...
What clasps she to her heart so near? Kyrie eleison! ...
A song in honor of Mary (Marie) who journeys through this world of thorns, crying out for mercy, clasping close to her heart a hope that mercy will ultimately remake the world despite what she cannot see.
Considering the story, words, and recommendation above, you might be inclined to lean towards skepticism and cynicism. I understand. The times we live in (and the place I get to live in the heart of New England) can steer us to such ways of seeing the world.
Many seem to feel the same. It intrigued me that on Rotten Tomatoes (as of the time of this writing), the critics gave All the Light We Cannot See a very low score overall of an only 28% approval rating. The site sums up the rejection with, "While All the Light We Cannot See has a bright cast, its potential is often snuffed out by a tonally awkward blend of serious and silly."
"A tonally awkward blend of serious and silly." That's a beautiful way to describe the tension of Advent for the skeptical, seeking, and believing. Sure, the story of Immanuel has a bright cast with an unwed teenage mother, some outcasts including shepherds and magi, and a maniacal king who wants to rid the world of a child via mass murder, but isn't this all a bit too serious and slightly silly? I mean, who really believes all this is true?
And yet, if we look at the audience award for Rotten Tomatoes, the exact inverse of the critical 28% score is met with an 82% approval rating by people who watched the series. One viewer writes, "A beautiful story albeit told without compromise. The terrible and futile violence of the second world war runs under the surface but it is an uplifting story of hope and promise. You should watch ... "
"You should watch." That was the theme for Emmaus City Church this past weekend as we began Advent in the RCL Year B Scripture readings, focused in particular on the Gospel's account of Jesus' words when He said:
What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
+ Mark 13:37
So invite you to watch.
Watch All the Light You Cannot See during this season of Advent and consider an ancient story told afresh.
Watch, for when the darkness closes in, where do you run to for hope?
Watch and consider again, as the Nicene creed reminds us of, "I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible."
And watch for how the "invisible" Jesus might all of a sudden start showing up more in your life during these days of Advent (i.e. "coming," "arrival").
I'm praying for you that you'll have eyes to see.
And remember:
The most important light is the light we cannot see. (Yet.)
Next post: Christmas Miracle Film Series Reflection | Tokyo Godfathers
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Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
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