now surprised about his decision to take me to The Last Days
of Pompeii (1960). Nobody seemed to worry about age
appropriateness or exposure to violence. Today I still
remember scenes in which Christians heroically fought for
their lives and faith in ancient Rome. The martyrs were saved
at the last minute because Mt. Vesuvius erupted and killed
their persecutors.
This movie outing was my big adventure. I was
absolutely fascinated. For the first time I experienced being
engrossed in a bigger-than-life experience — the colors, the
sounds and the story of a big screen motion picture.The Last
Days of Pompeiimoved me deeply. When I held my grandfa-
ther’s hand walking out of the theater, the world seemed dif-
ferent. After this intensely emotional experience I felt close to
him for the first time in my life. A new and unfamiliar bond
had developed between us, as if we had prevailed together
over a real tragedy as opposed to one on the screen, as if we
had stuck together during a real war and not a projected fan-
tasy battle. Our relationship was transformed. From that day
on we became movie buddies. No one else in our family
shared our interest.
My first motion picture also opened my eyes to an
important value, standing up and fighting for one’s true
beliefs. In some ways I had been aware of this all along, but
it was not very clear in my mind, and I certainly did not have
the words to articulate it. The movie demonstrated that there
have been people in the world who followed this principle.
Although I had felt drawn to stories about Christians and
other heroes before, the film brought their lives to my aware-
ness in a much more vivid fashion. Since I was raised
Catholic and felt deeply committed to my seven-year-old
Christian faith at the time, the movie provided a significant
spiritual experience as well.
I perceived the film heroes as strong and courageous when
they faced their immense challenges. Today I remember that
for a long time after watching the movie, I saw myself as one“Man can learn nothing
except by going from the
known to the unknown.”
Claude Bernard8 E-Motion Picture Magic