Mother Teresa: In the Name of Gods Poor

Publish date: 2024-09-24

Filmed before Mother Teresa's Sept. 5 death, "Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor" shines with good intentions, a strong perf by Geraldine Chaplin in the title role, and with an honorable if fragmented account of this remarkable woman, her dedication to her cause and to the world in which she lived. Limited to only two hours, telefilm abbreviates and skips a lot, but what's there is engrossing. Right off the bat, thanks to the sparse-but-informative script by Dominique Lapierre and Carol Kaplan and to Chaplin's intelligent interpretation of the holy woman, "Mother Teresa" grabs attention. Starting in 1946 Calcutta with stock footage of the Mahatma after the partition of India (his death isn't mentioned), program introduces the Sisters of Loreta's Sister Teresa. Born in Skopje in what's now Yugoslavia of Albanian parentage, Sister Teresa's compassion for the poor and hungry dominates the purposeful telepic

The vidfilm plainly demonstrates her artful style when she learns the convent’s cupboard’s bare: She finds ways to feed her charges. Seeking out food and medicine, she claims the poor and she rescues the dying so they won’t die in garbage-strewn streets.

Director Kevin Connor, accomplishing a fine job capturing the poverty and unrest in Calcutta, graphically illustrates the hopelessness of the dying and the destitute. Chaplin — hardly the actress one might think of for the role — beautifully establishing the essences of Mother Teresa, embodies her practical spirituality.

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If little’s known of the whole woman, Chaplin still does a bang-up job. Following Sister Teresa’s determined path to found a refuge for failing paupers, the telefilm shows her convincing her spiritual adviser, Father Van Exem, to help her win over the archbishop (David Byrd).

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Sister Teresa does leave the refuge of the convent to administer to incredibly poor beggars in the slums, and the wretchedness she embraces covers the appalling slum area known as Moti Jihl with its great garbage dumps from which the hungry collect their food. (The set for Moti Jihl was built amid genuine Sri Lanka slums with its feel of dire hopelessness; it’s a prime part of the program.)

With other women and girls from the convent, with the reluctant help of city officials, particularly of the Calcutta police commissioner and with the blessing of Rome, she founds the Missionaries of Charity. When Father Van Exem hands her the news and calls her “Mother Teresa” for the first time, Chaplin’s Teresa glows.

Vidpic bears down on how she constantly was physically helping people and teaching her aides the process. Despite the array of worshipers from outside Catholicism whose beliefs were at odds with Roman concepts, she never attempts converting them; that’s not her mission.

A U.S. ex-war correspondent named Harper (William Katt), an unconvincing composite figure of journalists, becomes involved in Teresa’s work after listening to his Brit friend Sgt. Stout (Alan Shearman), and witnessing Teresa’s extraordinary behavior. It’s he who breaks news of her in the international press, according to the telefilm; odd, as he doesn’t exist.

In their script, Lapierre and Kaplan have divided the segs of her life into segments of experiences rather than sticking to strict chronological events. The idea works, even if sometimes there are unaccountable time breaks.

From recognizing a thirsty peasant (Edwin Weerasooriya) as Jesus’ way of beckoning to her to come to the aid of the poor, to her selection of the simple cotton cloth for her missionary robes, Chaplin’s Teresa is keenly in charge. Her dedicated interp brightens with ranges from the woman’s obvious pleasure when the ill feel comforted and when she can defeat what would seem impossible difficulties.

Some characters register superficial — Sgt. Stout comes off as a stock out-of-India character, and of course Katt’s fictional Harper just can’t be credible. Byrd’s Archbishop Perier is forced. More persuasive are Prageeth Sanjeeva as Teresa’s Hindu helper Jyoti, Keene Curtis’ earnest Fr. Van Exem, even Helena Carroll’s doubtful mother superior or Randeniya’s commissioner.

Filmed in Sri Lanka to reassuring effect, the production projects the terrible distress of a poverty-ridden city slum. Designer Errol Kelly’s solid projection of actual poverty and filth never waivers. Director Connor and Kelly project the horrors of Calcutta’s pauperism as it moves inexorably forward to world recognition and Mother Teresa’s Nobel Prize in Oslo, Norway. Even here she asserts her love for the poor and sick by insisting the Nobel banquet be canceled: The food must be turned over to the needy.

Of course, there’s much more to know about Mother Teresa, but the telefilm makes a respectful start. It’s reverent without being prim, irreverent without losing its focus, and surely timely: For two hours this remarkable woman returns to administer mercy and love for the poor. Maybe it’s a testimonial as well as a vidbio, but it supplies some answers to things about the late nun, though her spiritual views aren’t fully explored.

Tech credits are superb.

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Mother Teresa: In the Name of God’s Poor

Sun. (5), 7-9 p.m., Family Channel

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