HEART OF A SERVANT: THE FATHER FLANAGAN STORY

Here is the decision, and it's an easy one. This is the true story of Father Edward J. Flanagan, the priest who founded Boys Town and gave the world a new way of caring for children in need. Narrated by Jonathan Roumie of "The Chosen," it's a high-quality documentary with a heart as big as its subject — and it carries a strong, unapologetically Christian message.

There is nothing here to guard against. One light obscenity is the whole of the content report. No violence, no sex, nothing that would give a parent pause.

So gather the family, or take the church group. If you're looking for a film that will feed everyone at the table and leave you wanting to serve someone, this is it — go and see it.

From a small Irish town to the founding of Boys Town, Father Edward J. Flanagan spent his life fighting for the world's forgotten children. He built a groundbreaking organization on a radical idea: that every child deserves compassion, and that no child is beyond hope.

His work drew criticism — his push for racial equality and better children's workhouses made enemies. It also made history, inspiring the 1938 film that won Spencer Tracy an Oscar. This documentary follows Flanagan from Ireland to Boys Town to the shattered postwar children of Europe and Asia.

Four stars, and they're earned. This is a very high-quality documentary that knows how to bring a life to the screen. It weaves interviews with professors, bishops, and former residents of Boys Town together with archival footage of Flanagan and the boys he helped.

That footage is the film's quiet triumph — it gives you a first-hand look at the work Flanagan actually did, so the story never feels like secondhand admiration. Jonathan Roumie's narration guides you through an in-depth account of a life that touched children around the world. It's polished, purposeful filmmaking in service of a story worth telling.

This film has a strong Christian, biblical worldview, and it wears it proudly. Flanagan's whole life was an argument that faith is meant to be lived out — in kindness, in acceptance, in hard work, and in prayer. The documentary honors that without embarrassment.

At its center is a conviction the film states plainly: "In each and every one of those children, [Flanagan] saw the face of Christ." That was the message Flanagan spent his life promoting, and the movie makes it the beating heart of everything. His care for children in need was inseparable from his faith — he taught the boys in his charge to pray, and he modeled a compassion rooted in the gospel itself.

There is little here to quibble with. The film celebrates work ethic, courage in the face of criticism, and the dignity of every child — values Scripture affirms and this documentary presents without cynicism.

Flanagan saw Christ in the least of these because Christ told us we would. "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). This is a film about a man who took that verse seriously.

Some films you watch; this one you feel. Father Flanagan gave his life to the children the world overlooked, and this documentary honors him with the craft and warmth he deserves. Bring the whole family — it's an inspiring, wholesome hour and a half that will leave you wanting to love your neighbor better. Our answer is the same one we opened with: worth the trip.