'Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality' Review

In 2006, a young Italian teenage boy born in the year of the internet who spent his days enjoying coding, soccer, and above all the Eucharist, was unexpectedly diagnosed with Leukemia and suffered from it until his death eleven days later. He performed no miraculous miracles, wasn’t martyred, and from an outsiders point of view lived a rather ordinary life that most would expect teenagers to have lived and experienced during the 21st century. Yet this same boy is also soon set to be canonized by the Catholic Church and will be its very first millennial saint. How and why this came to be has proven a topic of much discussion, excitement, and interest especially in the younger generations which Carlo grew up with. From this stems the recent documentary starring guests and speakers such as Monsignor Shea, Chris Stefanick, and even relatives to Carlo Acutis titled “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality”.

Within the trailer there can be shown other clips outside of those that reveal the story of Carlo including a group of students who leave their devices at home to take a trip over to Rome and Assisi to visit incorrupt body of Carlo, and a various amount of reflections and history given about the overuse and addictive nature of technology in modern society. As such these are expanded upon in the documentary as it is split up into three sections: Carlo and his impact, the students' experience of Rome without devices, and how technology affects our modern culture. And while this seems like a clever way to keep the audience engaged and provide a creative structure to the film, I must admit that there were many times where it seemed to overstay its welcome by taking up a larger majority of the film than I thought it would originally do.

With this it could almost seem that the film at times is more concerned with warning and educating this generation on the dangers of technology and simply used the modern Saint to give the film an appealing name to bring in as many of his growing fanbase to the theaters as possible. With fasts cuts and many interviews with one-liners it can be overwhelming at times to soak in all the information given to you and to sort out which is the most important to know out of the three “timelines” which is something I really wish this film took the time to do for its audience as I have seen done really well in other documentaries and in particular as is done in the FOCUS “saint” documentary “Radiating Joy” which took the time to make each interview count and really focus and centralize the film on the life of its subject Michelle Duppong. Despite this, I do believe that the film provided key insight into the actual process of Sanctification which Carlo revealed through his life. As many would likely agree, the thought of a Saint wearing jeans and a t-shirt as opposed to the traditional imagery of what a Saint looks like is surely something to stir up exciting and insightful conversation about what it means to be a Saint. And I think this is where the documentary hit the mark for me in regards to adding towards this discussion. In particular it is mentioned and then summed up perfectly by one of the students who went on the trip to Rome as she brings up the thought that one of the realities that Carlo has brought into the light with concerns to Sainthood is its possibility in the here and now. Whether we’ll be canonized as a Saint is up to God, but whether we can truly be sanctified in our humanity right now in this present age and in our own brokenness, wounds, and concerns is up to us. We could either respond to God’s call to completely sanctify and transform our lives through His Church and Sacraments with a yes as Carlo did beautifully at such a young age, or we could deny His transforming work and simply be as photocopies of the world around us as reflects the image that Carlo paints in a quote of his saying:

"All are born as originals, but many die as photocopies”.

Carlo shows us through his life and example that sanctification is possible and that it should not be sought after for the sake of fulfilling oneself with consolation without thought of giving such to others who yearn as well for sanctification.

A passage from St. Catherine of Siena’s Dialogue brings more insight into this with a quote from God the Father:

“These people find all their pleasure in seeking their own spiritual consolation—so much so that often they see their neighbors in spiritual or temporal need and refuse to help them. Under pretense of virtue they say, ‘It would make me lose my spiritual peace and quiet, and I would not be able to say my Hours at the proper time.’ … But they are deceived by their own spiritual pleasure… For I have ordained every exercise of vocal and mental prayer to bring souls to perfect love for me and their neighbors, and to keep them in this love.”

If the lives of the Saints reveal how we should approach God and our call to holiness, I believe this selfless holiness is the greatest thing that Carlo reveals to us in our age of selfishness encapsulated precisely by modern technology and media which can often end up turning people inwards towards ourselves and what we need and desire more than bringing us out of ourselves in service and availability for others.

In summary, the documentary, while lacking in its technical ability to engage and educate the audience in a more fruitful and impactful way concerning the life of Carlo Acutis, I would say that anyone who decides to watch it will not leave without a few insightful thoughts to keep with them.

Carlo Acutis, Pray For Us!