Our novitiate includes a great reduction in exposure to media, especially digital media, in order to preserve a spirit of silence and recollection in our daily rhythm of life. We do not listen to music, we do not use the internet without special permission, we do not watch television, and we watch few films outside of educational programming. The films we do watch are mostly for the value of spiritual edification: the lives of saints, documentaries, and rarely an action movie that includes moral dilemmas ;)
This weekend a couple of us decided to check out YouTube, which is a surprisingly good resource for feature-length films spanning a range from well-known to obscure.
I selected The Song of Bernadette, a classic and Oscar-winning film from 1943. It had been a long time since I had seen it and I wanted to share some of my insights that have been shaped by the history studies in novitiate, particularly relating to the post-enlightenment intellectual mind and European politics in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.
The town officials of Lourdes, portrayed by Vincent Price et al., are depicted as maniacally bent on preventing the populace from following Bernadette Soubirous and believing that she experienced apparitions. In some scenes the scripting is a little on the nose, but even aside from that they seem to be presented as caricatures, so antagonistic that they become protagonists in harassing a young girl and her family to intimidate them into silence. Whether or not this was intended by the film's producers and based on the factual evidence I cannot say, but from what I have learned of European politics during the period it is actually quite accurate.
During the French Revolution and extending through the Napoleonic Era, the ideas of the Enlightenment became instituted in European politics, slowly at first and then almost universally. Government was seized by intellectuals hostile to the Christianity in general and to the Catholic Church in particular, which in their minds represented an obstacle to progress and social development. It began in France and then spread throughout Europe, with revolutions, coups d'etat, and appointments bringing to power totalitarian rulers who were determined to reconfigure society according to the Enlightenment model. Emperor Joseph II of Austria-Hungary was a pioneer in suppressing contemplative religious orders that "provided no tangible benefits to society." Napoleon became notorious for ignoring the concordat he had made with the Church; property was seized, religious orders were suppressed, Church appointments and administration were interfered with; he had participated in the abduction and imprisonment of Pope Pius VI as a commander in the Republican army in 1796, and as Emperor he kept Pope Pius VII prisoner in Rome.
The main impetus behind the French Republic's conquest had been to extend the government of the Enlightenment across Europe, and although the state itself failed, it proved largely successful in its goal. The Congress of Vienna (1814-15) introduced the Restoration period with the reinstitution of monarchies and the Church, but decades of French influence had deeply affected the continent. Within several years, most countries were experiencing upheaval again, this time from within. The mid 19th century witnessed bloody revolutions and overthrown monarchies all over Europe in the name of liberalism and progress in states of all sizes. 
The Church was tolerated because it was either impossible to seize control of it entirely or it provided an effective means to pacify the populace. Secular clergy were especially protected because of strong historical ties that existed between local dioceses and governments. Religious orders were targeted for suppression and eviction because central organization beyond the reach of civil government made them difficult to control. Those of apostolic life in education and nursing were tolerated to the extent they were needed; those of contemplative life were not tolerated at all. Some civil leaders were indifferent to the Church, but many were openly hostile because of Freemasonry or intellectual opposition and they gained a monopoly on civil power (cf. Mexican governments of the 20th century and Cristiada).
So, rather than viewing the villains of The Song of Bernadette as caricatures, I think the portrayal of self-styled intellectuals laboring to disabuse the peasantry of superstitions by any means at their disposal is probably fairly accurate, whether it was intended or not.
We also recently watched another film I can recommend as excellent: the life of Saint Charbel (in Arabic with English subtitles). It is well-written, well-acted, and presents the biography of a hermit in a compelling way with little elaboration. I would rate it as a top quality film if not for the unfortunate flaw of terrible costume beards.
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