Unyielding determination

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, March 8. This is WORLD Radio and we thank you for listening. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: checking in on the movies now in theaters. Last weekend, Dune: Part Two became the first big hit of 2024 raking in more than 82 million dollars domestically.

EICHER: This weekend, a couple of new movies hope to overtake Dune. Here’s arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino to tell us about the films Cabrini and Kung Fu Panda 4.

COLLIN GARBARINO: Last year, director Alejandro Monteverde made a name for himself when his Sound of Freedom became the surprise hit of the summer. Now he’s back with another Angel Studios film about the intrinsic dignity of all people. Cabrini tells the story of Francesca Cabrini, the Roman Catholic nun from Italy who founded hospitals and orphanages at the end of the 19th century.

FRANCESCA CABRINI: Open your eyes. See everything. This is who we’ve come to serve.

The pope sends Mother Cabrini to America and charges her with alleviating the suffering of the poor Italian immigrants who have flocked to New York City. But she must overcome innumerable obstacles in her mission. The need is great but her resources are few. Neither the church nor the city government seem interested in giving her the support she needs.

CABRINI: I need your help. I need an orphanage with more room where my children can be children.

Italian actress Cristiana Dell'Anna plays Cabrini with the right mix of heartfelt compassion and steely determination. David Morse and John Lithgow also give solid performances as some of the men who are less than enthusiastic about her mission.

On the whole, Monteverde and Angel Studios have produced a movie that rivals any Hollywood biopic in its production values. The sets and costumes communicate the grime and the glamor of New York at the end of the 19th century, and the cinematography and the lighting effects are excellent. Monteverde adds to the realism by filming many scenes in Italian adding English subtitles.

CABRINI: [Speaking Italian]

But Monteverde seems to have taken another cue from Hollywood when portraying the story’s religious aspect. He keeps things pretty vague. For a story about a Roman Catholic nun, there’s surprisingly little talk about God or religion. Cabrini speaks about her vision of building an “empire of hope,” but it’s couched in terms of personal ambition rather than a divine calling, and the “hope” she refers to seems to be the alleviation of poverty rather than an eternal hope in the gospel. Jesus remains invisible in the film. Even when Cabrini quotes a familiar Bible verse about Christ, she conspicuously leaves out his name.

CABRINI: You can do all things… all things in Him who strengthens us.

The movie’s focus isn’t really faith, but rather the dangers of prejudice. Monteverde highlights the plight of the Italian immigrants, and it seems the Mexican director is using it to remind us of the contemporary situation at America’s southern border. He wants Cabrini’s story to teach us that all God’s children are entitled to dignity.

Cabrini is rated PG-13 for some heavy themes, but our next film is aimed at families looking for something to entertain the kids.

Kung Fu Panda 4 continues the adventures of the loveable, guileless Dragon Warrior. Jack Black returns as kung fu master Po, and this time he’s facing one of his biggest challenges. Letting go.

SHIFU: Oogway chose you as his successor, and now you must choose yours.

PO: Master Shifu, I finally found something I’m good at and now you just want to take it away from me?

Po is expected to step down as the protector of the Valley of Peace and assume the mantle of spiritual leader… a job that involves spouting proverbs rather than fighting bad guys.

But a new threat requires him to put off finding a successor. The Chameleon, voiced by a menacing Viola Davis, plans to use her shapeshifting powers to take over the world. To help him find the Chameleon, Po enlists the help of Zhen, voiced by Awkwafina, a street-smart corsac fox with larcenous tendencies.

ZHEN: Well then. Come and get it.

PO: No! No, no, no, no… Don’t come and get it.

BOAR: Destroy them!

If you’re familiar with the other installments in this 16-year-old franchise, you’ll know exactly what to expect from Kung Fu Panda 4. It’s rated PG for its martial-arts action and some mild rude humor. There’s also some babble about eastern spirituality. Folks who haven’t seen the previous installments might wonder why Po has two dads, but there’s no LGBT agenda here. One is his adoptive father, and the other’s his biological father with whom he was reunited late in life.

PING: Li, would you please show a little backbone?

LI: I’m sorry, but bravery was never really my specialty.

Other than using some cool dynamic camera techniques, Kung Fu Panda 4 doesn’t break any new ground. In fact, the trope of having the old hero pass the mantle off to a young girl is wearing pretty thin with me. But that said, it’s still an entertaining movie and will certainly please fans of the franchise.

Perhaps the thing that’s most amazing about Kung Fu Panda 4 is that DreamWorks spent much less than half of what Disney spends on its animated movies. This movie is better than Disney’s recent films, and unlike Disney, DreamWorks will certainly turn a profit with this family-friendly entertainment.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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