There are films that are great, but your brain rejects them or refuses to fully process them because the horror is so epic and quotidian. Around 20 minutes into Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, my brain stopped processing, and I kept having to replay certain scenes to make sure that I understood what was going on. I may need to rewatch the entire documentary, but even with one viewing, the filmmaker makes it impossible for you to understand how anyone can look into these men’s faces and say, “NO. Your pain doesn’t matter. We will ignore you.” First, it is a beautifully shot film that does what the Catholic Church failed to do: focus on the men and allow them to be heard while showing their beauty and pain. Second, it is ambitious in a good way by showing parallels in other countries and time periods. I think that the greatest fault of the filmmaker is when he necessarily departs from solely focusing on the men’s story. A more linear timeline approach would have helped throughout the story. He correctly started with these men’s story, but in addition to focusing on them, instead of just verbally mentioning the dates and occasionally showing photographs to show what they look like when that part of the story occurred, he should have emphasized the repeated attempts at awakening the public’s outrage by emphasizing each time period with setting and cultural touch stones so it remains rooted in the viewer’s mind. Then as the filmmaker began to broaden his scope to reveal what was going on throughout the world, for instance, instead of briefly showing a former monk unrelated to the scandal in the middle of the men’s story, the filmmaker should have saved that story for later when dealing with the broader idea of a coverup. He should show this person’s broader experience in dealing with scandals and how it disgusted him and led to his resignation within the setting of what was going on in the Catholic Church at that time. Because this scandal actually encompasses centuries and spans throughout many countries and bureaucracies, it needed to be told as simply as possible with smoother transitions with each jump. As it is, it is grand and a perfect emotional memorial for these amazing men, but I also want it to be mind-searingly factually memorable.