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The idea of a “saint,” or a particularly holy and good person, is ubiquitous across world history and faith traditions. Within the Christian tradition, the term “saint” was originally used to refer simply to believers. By the 10th century, the church had developed a procedure of canonization whereby a particularly exemplary Christian might be recognized as such for special honor and veneration. Gradually, a fixed process was developed by the pope, which required that the person must have led a life of heroic sanctity and performed at least two miracles.
The notion comes with some controversy in the history of Protestant vs. Catholic Christianity. Protestants would accuse Catholics of praying to the saints themselves and worshipping their icons. In turn, Catholics would accuse Protestants of not understanding how asking saints to pray for you — a practice known as intercession — was no different than asking a friend to pray for you.
Scorsese’s new project, however, is far more ecumenical. Although all of the saints featured are official Catholic ones, they are talked about more as heroes worth admiring — something even a Protestant can get behind.
“Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” takes advantage of what docudramas do best. Their strength is the ability to make history come alive in both a digestible and efficient manner. The drama segments get the viewer invested in the people and events, and Scorsese’s narration efficiently fills you in on the details. Viewers will have a decently memorable picture of the lives of these saints.
Scorsese is the right person for this series, which will be broadcast by Fox Nation. There’s a reason that he himself — and not just his movies — is so beloved. Scorsese is a smart person and has a quiet authority about him. But he also always seems genuinely reverent, compassionate and earnestly curious about whatever subject he’s engaged with. As a Catholic, he’s very interested in the lives of the saints, and it shows here. He shows deep honor and sympathy for the men and women he speaks about, whether he’s talking about their great virtues, flaws or trials. And none of it feels like a put on.
There’s quite a bit artistically reminiscent of Scorsese’s work in the drama portions of this series. The classic combination of sacred beauty and stylized grit and grime is ever-present. The series is often framed in the film like paintings of living icons reminiscent of Scorsese’s “Silence.” Yet the people and events never lose their lifelikeness or dirtiness, whether it’s Joan of Arc on the battlefield or Maximillian Kolbe starving to death in a concentration camp while holding a fellow prisoner (the episodes on Joan and Kolbe were the ones I was given for this review).
The posture toward these men and women balances between celebratory and nonjudgemental. While Scorsese and others on his panel may doubt whether Joan of Arc actually heard from God — or may not have a traditional idea of what “hearing from God” means — the drama portions still portray the account from her vantage point (though we never hear the voices she hears). Similarly, the segment on Kolbe shows us his antisemitism and trafficking in anti-Jewish conspiracy theories as a matter of regrettable fact, but shows his act of self-sacrifice as one we should ultimately revere.
But what the series suffers from is the weaknesses of most docudramas. Because they have to fit in dramatization, information and discussion, there’s not really enough time for any of them. Every time one starts to really get into the story being told in the drama, it cuts to Scorsese summarizing events instead of us getting to see them. At the same time, neither Scorsese’s narration nor his discussion with the panel of experts were given room to delve too deeply into the history or the controversies around these figures (something that’s harder to do in a drama).
The weakest part of the show is the discussion portion. At the end of each episode, Scorsese is joined by his three panelists. The discussion is fairly shallow, with the panel trading pithy opinions on the saints that I and my friends could probably give. Phrases like “complex,” “relative’” “journey” and “spiritual” are thrown about. Meanwhile, unlike with more extended expert panels like those done with episodes of “The Chosen,” there isn’t really room to dig into differences of interpretation in the history or go beyond surface-level analysis of these saints’ legacies.
Many Christians will also likely be turned off by the uncontested modernist bias of the panel. At one point, one of the members says, “It was a pretty common idea in European Christianity at that time that Jesus paid a debt by going on the cross. ‘In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.’ That the sin of Adam had to be canceled out by the crucifixtion of Jesus. That’s the kind of thinking that Kolbe would have been familiar with. … We don’t think this way so much anymore, but it was really common back then.”
This comment goes unchallenged — even though a non-strawman version of that view is still regarded as true by at least a large plurality of Christians who regularly attend church (particularly those who watch Fox News). This only feeds into a vibe that the panel is not really about robust discussion around the people and events depicted, but a bunch of likeminded friends chewing the fat after watching a show.
“Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” is a series that’s exactly what you’d expect. While many might wish it could have gone deeper, the show gives you just enough drama and education on the lives of people worth remembering that we can keep remembering them. And that’s itself worthy of honor.
“Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” premieres on Nov. 17 on Fox Nation.