It's now a commonly known and accepted fact that many Catholic priests molested young boys, but that wasn't always the case. In 1990, when "Judgment" was released, this was an anomaly. 30 years removed from that movie we know that it wasn't an anomaly at all.
"Judgment" is one of those difficult-to-watch movies. The pain and anger it evokes is too great. A young boy named Robbie Guitry (Michael Faustino) training to be an altar boy was repeatedly molested by Father Frank Aubert (David Strathairn). The matter only came to light after Robbie's adamant refusal to go to church one Sunday.
Once the issue came to light, the mother, Emmeline (Blythe Danner), wanted the pedophile priest arrested. The father, Pete (Keith Carradine), on the other hand, thought the accusation should be investigated some more and the priest, as well as the church, should be given the benefit of the doubt.
The parents were going to have a tough time getting anywhere with their accusation because Robbie would never verbalize what happened. As a parent myself I was bubbling over with angst and anger because of Robbie's silence. I wanted the papal pervert to fry for what he did to Robbie and other boys. But as a man who was once a boy, I know I also would've been silent. I may have even taken the whole thing to my grave. Not out of protection of the church, the priest, or anyone else, but out of shame. I know that I would've been far too ashamed to mention what happened to me because I'm a boy and boys don't let these things happen to them. So, from that respect, I completely understood Robbie's plight.
In a case like this it's hard to point out who you hate more: the priest for doing the acts, or the church--on whatever level--for covering it up. Aubert had been shuffled from church to church leaving a dearth of destroyed young boys in his wake and the church continued to stay mum. Sure, they wrapped it up in flowery religious talk to make it seem like they were doing good and the good they were doing shouldn't be overshadowed by this tiny ill, but it was nothing but holy hogwash.
So, kudos to the Guitry family (especially Mrs. Guitry) for being strong enough to go up against the Goliath known as the Catholic Church. Kudos to them for not taking a monetary settlement to be quiet while Father Freak continued to don the cloth. If it weren't for their bravery, then we wouldn't have this movie. And maybe their act of bravery established a precedent to allow others to come forward later. And kudos to the writer, director, and production company for being bold enough to release such a movie when I'm sure it was highly unpopular.
"Judgment" is one of those difficult-to-watch movies. The pain and anger it evokes is too great. A young boy named Robbie Guitry (Michael Faustino) training to be an altar boy was repeatedly molested by Father Frank Aubert (David Strathairn). The matter only came to light after Robbie's adamant refusal to go to church one Sunday.
Once the issue came to light, the mother, Emmeline (Blythe Danner), wanted the pedophile priest arrested. The father, Pete (Keith Carradine), on the other hand, thought the accusation should be investigated some more and the priest, as well as the church, should be given the benefit of the doubt.
The parents were going to have a tough time getting anywhere with their accusation because Robbie would never verbalize what happened. As a parent myself I was bubbling over with angst and anger because of Robbie's silence. I wanted the papal pervert to fry for what he did to Robbie and other boys. But as a man who was once a boy, I know I also would've been silent. I may have even taken the whole thing to my grave. Not out of protection of the church, the priest, or anyone else, but out of shame. I know that I would've been far too ashamed to mention what happened to me because I'm a boy and boys don't let these things happen to them. So, from that respect, I completely understood Robbie's plight.
In a case like this it's hard to point out who you hate more: the priest for doing the acts, or the church--on whatever level--for covering it up. Aubert had been shuffled from church to church leaving a dearth of destroyed young boys in his wake and the church continued to stay mum. Sure, they wrapped it up in flowery religious talk to make it seem like they were doing good and the good they were doing shouldn't be overshadowed by this tiny ill, but it was nothing but holy hogwash.
So, kudos to the Guitry family (especially Mrs. Guitry) for being strong enough to go up against the Goliath known as the Catholic Church. Kudos to them for not taking a monetary settlement to be quiet while Father Freak continued to don the cloth. If it weren't for their bravery, then we wouldn't have this movie. And maybe their act of bravery established a precedent to allow others to come forward later. And kudos to the writer, director, and production company for being bold enough to release such a movie when I'm sure it was highly unpopular.