Leonardo Defilipis is to be commended for a worthy effort to bring the life of this much beloved saint to the big screen. This is a work of love, filmed and distributed largely with private donations and promoted through church bulletins. Lower your expectations and open your heart to Therese, I believe she shines through what is a mediocre film.
The lack of funds shows in nearly every aspect of the film. It appears to have been shot on 16 mm then expanded to 35 mm, making the film look grainy. The sound is in 2-track stereo and not Dolby surround. The director could have used more takes to polish some of the scenes. There are few effects, and they are not done particularly well. I was bothered by the Foley effects. Footsteps were too loud. The birds sang exactly the same in two different scenes. The story was told linearly and in a way that is not particularly interesting.
The story follows Therese from 4 to her death at 24, focusing mostly on her conversion experience at 14. I am much more interested in her writings and how a young woman goes from obscurity to sainthood only 27 years after her death. But we are told this only in a postscript.
The movie begins to hit its stride in the interaction between Therese and the other nuns at Carmel. The actors seem wooden and two dimensional, but there are revealing moments into Therese's "little way". I liked the scene where Therese helps the older nun to walk to dinner. But just as it begins to get interesting, Therese falls ill. Her suffering and eventual death are agonizing long for a 90 minute film. I was bothered by the scene where the priest attempts to give her Viaticum - the host is huge. This may have been historically true, but I believe that any priest would have broken it into the tiniest piece. This is the ONLY time a sacrament is shown in the film. I believe Therese was likely to go to the Eucharist daily and to spend many hours at exposition, such devotion to the sacraments would have been a better way to show us Therese's piety.
While I can't recommend Therese, I would not discourage others from seeing it. I am sure it will appeal to many Catholics who have a devotion to the Little Flower.
