Choices of the Heart
| Choices of the Heart | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Joseph Sargent |
| Produced by | David W. Rintels Joseph Sargent |
| Written by | John Pielmeier |
| Starring | Melissa Gilbert Peter Horton Helen Hunt Mary McCusker Mari Gorman Pamela Bellwood Patrick Cassidy René Enríquez Mike Farrell Martin Sheen |
| Music by | John Rubinstein |
| Cinematography | Jorge Stahl Jr. |
| Editing by | George Jay Nicholson |
| Distributed by | NBC |
| Release date(s) | United States: December 5, 1983 |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Choices of the Heart is an award-winning television movie based on the lives of Jean Donovan, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and the three other churchwomen who were killed in El Salvador during their Civil War.[1][2][3]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The movie is based on actual events. On March 24, 1980, Romero was killed, and three Roman Catholic nuns and a lay Catholic missionary were killed on December 2, 1980, by Salvadoran death squads, possibly funded by the United States.[3] Three of the women dedicated their lives to helping refugees and sick people for years.[4] Jean Donovan had been in El Salvador for over two years helping the children that she was so devoted to.[4] Donovan says over and over in her letters to her family in the U.S. that God brought her to El Salvador.[4] These women were raped, tortured, and killed by members of a Salvadoran death squad.[3] Attempts from the Salvadoran and American governments were made to try to cover the murders up.[3]
[edit] Production
The production was filmed mostly in Mexico. Mike Farrell plays Robert C. White, then U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Ambassador to El Salvador, who keeps running into official interference and noncooperation in his investigation concerning the murdered women.[3] Martin Sheen appears as Matt Phelan, a Dublin priest whom Miss Donovan meets while spending her junior college year in Ireland.[3]
[edit] Cast
- Melissa Gilbert - Jean Donovan
- Peter Horton - Doug
- Helen Hunt - Cathy
- Mary McCusker - Sister Maura Clarke
- Mari Gorman - Sister Ita Ford
- Pamela Bellwood - Sister Dorothy Kazel
- Patrick Cassidy - Patrick
- René Enríquez - Archbishop Romero
- Mike Farrell - Ambassador Robert E. White
- Martin Sheen - Father Philan
- Demián Bichir - Armando
- Enrique Lucero - Colonel Rojas
- Delores Devine - Gwen
- George Belanger - Father Rich
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Choices of the Heart at the Internet Movie Database
- John J. O'Connor New York Times, December 5 1983: "TV: DRAMA OF CHURCHWOMEN SLAIN IN EL SALVADOR"
- New York Times Arts Section, December 5 1983, comprehensive article
- movies.nytimes.com: review summary and movie details
- movies.msn.com: Choices of the Heart: overview, cast, synopsis, and ratings
- videoeta.com: cast verification
- hollywood.com: synopsis, cast, and production informations
- allmovie.com: film information and plor synopsis
- spout.com: film synopsis and reviews
- Entertainment Weekly, February 21 1992: "LADIES-IN-WAITING", Melissa Gilbert listed as "most memorable" for Choices of the Heart
- InterReligious Task Force on Central America: "Martyrs of Central America & Colombia"[dead link]
- thebiographychannel.co.uk: biography of Martin Sheen
