The 2012 Italian faith-based movie Maìn (pronounced nearly as “mine”), titled after its protagonist, is a biographical account of an extraordinary woman of faith from the 19th Century – the Italian Catholic nun Maria Domenica Mazzarello. Written by Caterina Cangià and directed by Simone Spada, the movie is subtitled “La Casa Della Felicità”, i.e. The House of Happiness.
The story follows the protagonist Main from her childhood in her native village of Mornese in the late 1840s where we see her growing up as a kind-hearted girl from a farming family. Inheriting the faith of her parents, Main pursues charity work instead of following an average worldly life. With support from the local priest Father Pestarino (Fabio Pappacena) and another priest John Bosco (Paolo Civati), she would eventually head the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco to make educating young girls the mission of her life.
Maìn is an inspirational movie for families of Christian faith, and for young women of such families in particular, notably for its portrayal of positive character qualities like humility, dedication, and kindness. Men of faith and perhaps historians too would find it an important work about an important figure whose contribution continues to benefit countless young women and their families.
In today’s world, the story of Maria Domenica Mazzarello may sound like a Christian fairytale – free of any negativity, temptation, or any worldly pursuits. But the movie’s ending offers the realistic side of this coin with a montage of the existence and operation of Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco in nearly 100 countries across five continents – all originating from the faith-filled heart of a little girl in Italy’s countryside.
The movie has a website and at a few places online one can find an English-dubbed version (which is what this reviewer viewed).
