Rockhurst Film Series Celebrates Ignatian Heritage

Rockhurst University will kick off its latest Rockhurst Film Series with three films connected by themes celebrated during the University’s Ignatian Heritage Week.

A Rockhurst faculty member will introduce each film and lead a post-screening discussion. All film showings will begin at 7 p.m. in Mabee Theater, Sedgwick Hall on the University campus. Admission is $3 per film or $7 for the series.

The first in the series will be Thursday, Sept. 5. “The Mission,” a 1986 film starring Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons, depicts a Jesuit mission in the jungles of Brazil threatened by greedy merchants and politicians in the late 18th century. The film will be introduced by Richard Janet, Ph.D., department of history.

The second film, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 12, will be “Mean Streets,” a 1973 film starring Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel and directed by Martin Scorsese that centers on Charlie, a smalltime hoodlum who feels guilty about his business dealings and attempts to save himself by rescuing his erratic, trouble-prone friend Johnny Boy. The film will be introduced by Glenn Young, Ph.D., department of theology and religious studies.

“Babette’s Feast,” the final entry in the series scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 19, is a 1987 film directed by Gabriel Axel and winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film that tells the story of two minister’s daughters who decide to remain in their small Danish village where religion is the center of their lives. Then they take in a Parisian refugee who teaches them some very special things about the world. The film will be introduced by Rob Vigliotti, Ph.D., department of philosophy.