<div>The Story: During the 30 Years war, a friar's capacity for mercy is tested after he is captured by looters.
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<div>I am Joseph Gruber, a directing and screenwriting student at JPCatholic, and this is my senior thesis film “1638”, a historical drama short film dealing with the theme of mercy.
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<div>My hope in directing this film is twofold: to do a historical film while at school and makea reflection on mercy and ultimately my own failures to be loving, inspired by this verse from the book of Sirach in the Bible:
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<div>“Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
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<div>can he seek pardon for his own sins?
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<div>If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
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<div>who will forgive his sins?
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<div>Remember your last days, set enmity aside.”
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<div>In this attempt at story telling, I intend above all to show truth, ugly or not. I knew I wanted to do a period piece for my senior thesis film very early on, with my goal to capture and give an impression of the historical time period - in this case a few days in the year 1638 during 30 Years War - to the audience, in a way that not only introduces a somewhat unknown time to them but also impacts them.
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<div>Now, why the 30 Years War? As a historical setting it is not popular. Yet it is relevant to our modern time because the war shaped the face of Christianity in the western world more than any other. But for me, there is an account of a mercenary that has fascinated me since I heard it. He went back to burn down the same farm multiple years in a row, yet was
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<div>strangely friendly with the farmer, treating it s a job to do and not as the reality:
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<div>destroying someone’s life. That apathy or compartmentalization struck me then and has stayed with me since I heard it. I wanted to know how something like that could happen, how people could act that way. Ultimately, my desire to explore this played a part in me writing and directing this film.
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<div>By donating to this project, it will help pay for costuming, props, equipment, crew meals, and all the other production costs for a short film.
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