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July 18, 2014
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“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
By John Mulderig
Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Those super-sentient simians are back in
“Dawn of the
Planet of the Apes”
(Fox).
Though it’s not a film for kids, this latest addition to a franchise based on the work
of French science-fiction author Pierre Boulle (1912-1994) has enough going for it
to please most adults. Grown-ups also will find the themes underlying director Matt
Reeves’ 3-D follow-up to the 2011 reboot
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
congruent
with Christian values.
A decade after a pandemic called Simian Flu wiped out most of the human race,
a band of survivors -- led by a former law enforcement official named Dreyfus (Gary
Oldman) -- occupies the ruins of San Francisco. With their fuel supply running dan-
gerously low, they send out an expedition aimed at restoring a damaged hydroelectric
plant to the north of the city.
En route, however, the mission’s team members -- including widowed architect
Malcolm (Jason Clarke), his teen son, Alex (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and his nurse girl-
friend, Ellie (Keri Russell) -- encounter, and clash with, a community of genetically
evolved apes living in nearby Muir Woods.
As a potential war looms, the primates’ wise chief, Caesar (Andy Serkis), works
with Malcolm to prevent bloodshed.
If this peaceable duo represents the best of their respective species -- each is
shown to be motivated by concern for his family -- the other end of the spectrum
is embodied by Caesar’s aggressive deputy Koba (Toby Kebbell) and Malcolm’s
irascible colleague, Carver (Kirk Acevedo). Koba was a victim of torturous lab ex-
perimentation, while Carver holds the apes responsible for the ravages of Simian Flu.
Via these positive and negative role models, Reeves blends pleas for tolerance
and trust in with the considerable, though largely bloodless, combat action. While
Caesar, voiced by Andy
Serkis, appears in the movie
“Dawn of the Planet of the
Apes.” The Catholic News
Service
classification is
A-III -- adults.
The Motion
Picture Association of
America
rating is PG-13 --
parents strongly cautioned.
Some material may be
inappropriate for children
under 13.
CNS photo/Fox
thoroughly honorable, the script’s messages are delivered somewhat heavy-handedly.
Still, Serkis’ striking performance, together with top-notch special effects, elevates
Reeves’ sequel above run-of-the-mill entertainment.
The film contains frequent stylized violence, at least one use each of profanity and
rough language as well as several crude and crass terms.
The Catholic News Service
classification is A-III -- adults.
The Motion Picture Association of America
rating is
PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children
under 13.
Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.
For more movie, DVD and Blu-ray reviews,
see
.
Crowd-funding effort launched for French cathedral window restoration
ByWinston Pierre
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The American Friends
of Chartres has launched a crowd-funding campaign in
the United States to help restore and preserve a 20-foot-
high 13th-century stained-glass window in the Notre-
Dame de Chartres Cathedral in France.
Once what is known as the Baker’s Window is re-
stored and before it is put back in the cathedral, the win-
dow will travel to the United States for an exhibition
in one of the nation’s museums known for their large
collection of medieval art.
Notre-Dame de Chartres, which was built more than
800 years ago, has the largest collection of 12th- and
13th-century stained-glass windows in the world.
“We want to bring the beauty of the Chartres to the
American people,” said Dominique Lallement, presi-
dent of American Friends of Chartres, in a phone inter-
view with
Catholic News Service
.
She explained that bringing the stained-glass into
the U.S. will be a great opportunity for many people to
experience something that they may have not seen be-
fore. It will be one of the first times “that stained-glass
of the 13th century will travel to the United States,” she
added.
Lallement said American Friends of Chartres is
motivated by a desire to preserve a world heritage that
represents a lot to many people across the globe. The or-
ganization was established in 2005 to raise funds in the
U.S. for the restoration and preservation of Chartres;
the window project is just one part of the years-long
restoration effort.
In 1979, UNESCO added the Chartres cathedral to
its list of World Heritage Sites. It is considered one of
the finest examples of French Gothic architecture.
The cathedral is a large picture book recounting
the covenant between God and humanity, supporting
Christian faith,” Bishop Michel Pansard of Chartres
in a statement accompanying the announcement of the
crowd-funding effort.
“For believers as well as nonbelievers, the beauty
and harmony of the building echoes the mystery of
existence,” he said. “Chartres is a palace of peace and
silence, a path toward meeting and understanding be-
tween peoples.”
The “crowds of pilgrims who set out on a journey”
to Chartres are countless, he added, but the they “are
from all nations, origins, peoples, and languages. They
are touched by this hymn of stone and light, they sing to
the glory of God and the dignity of man.”
Lallement explained how Chartres draws millions
of visitors from across the world, no matter what their
spiritual background or religion is. “It is a place that for
building understanding and peace among people,” she
told
CNS
.
She also said Chartres symbolizes the historical and
cultural bond between the French and the American
people. Every year 1 million Americans are among the
millions of visitors to the cathedral.
“There is a very deep compelling story between
Chartres and the American people,” Lallement said.
She explained how the Americans saved the cathedral
from destruction at the end of World War II.
It was Army Col. Welborn Barton Griffith who
helped save the cathedral by challenging an order to de-
stroy it, according to a statement by French Ambassa-
dor to the U.S. Francois Delattre included in the crowd-
funding announcement.
American Friends of Chartres hopes to raise about
$250,000 to restore the Bakers’Window. Lallement ex-
plained that each piece of glass will be removed one at a
time from lead framing. Among features of the window
are its rose window, which depicts Christ enthroned;
two lancets depicting St. Peter and St. James the Major;
and panels showing bakers going about their timeless
tasks of shaping dough and baking bread.
Lallement said that she expected the window resto-
ration to begin in the fall of 2014. She added that Amer-
ican Friends of Chartres has raised 20 percent of the
money needed so far. Additionally, she said her organi-
zation plans to organize some cultural events related to
window’s restoration in Washington, Los Angeles and
New York.
Editor’s Note: More information about American
Friends of Chartres can be found at its website, www.
friendsofchartres.org.
