So far, the documentary “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality,” about the first millennial saint, has one review on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s similar to two other recent faith-based documentaries, “I Am Living Proof” (one review), and “Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story,” which has two.
America’s entire film critic body ignores these films, due to the atheism that undergirds coastal New York and LA-based liberalism. However, the audience rating stands at 97 and 98 percent for these 3 documentaries. That means, in the grand scheme of things, that the film critic body consists of two tiny atheist archipelagos bordering a vast sea of faith.
Carlo Acutis, secnd from left, poses with friends in “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality.” (Castletown Media) Castletown Media
Sainthood
Writer-director-producer Tim Moriarty’s “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality” is about the short life and times of Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 of leukemia at the age of 15. Acutis was scheduled to be canonized on April 27, 2025, but the ceremony was postponed due to the death of Pope Francis. A canonization can only be proclaimed by a pope, so the rite has to be wait until after the coming papal conclave.
Acutis’s impact on the world was clearly profound. Getting into Harvard is hard; making it into the U.S. Navy SEAL teams is arguably harder; but attaining canonization is the hardest thing humans can do. It takes a miracle. Literally. It actually takes two miracles to be declared a saint in the Catholic Church.
Class Trip
Students from the University of Mary go on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Carlo Acutis in “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality.”
Carlo was a regular millennial kid in many ways. He was a coder and a gamer who played soccer. Talking-head interviews with Acutis’s family, friends, and various Catholic thought-leaders speak to the young Carlo’s precocious, deep devotion to Christ, as well as to the Eucharist. That’s the ceremony commemorating the Last Supper in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed. Acutis created a website dedicated to chronicling Marian apparitions, as well as Eucharistic miracles. It provides a platform for the scientifically studied cases where the wafers and bread used in the ceremony bled inexplicably.
Also, a group of students from the University of Mary in North Dakota take a pilgrimage to Rome to view Carlo’s body. At the trip’s outset, they surrender their cell phones in order to better take in the glorious views of the Eternal City—Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, and fabulous Italian food—unsullied by screen addiction.
Both the trip and no cellphone usage are meant to liberate the students from the depression, isolation, fragmentation, and weakening bonds of interpersonal relationships the world is currently experiencing. Sharing about their spiritual journeys is encouraged. The film opens with a reminder that over-reliance on photocopies, as well as the internet, weaken reality.
Some students have a powerful faith. But others, born into Catholicism, are probably in need of an Amish-style “rumspringa,” where young men and women leave the spiritual community for a year. They drink, smoke, expose themselves to a little or a lot of the debauchery the world is now steeped in, and then reassess.
This part of the film felt like a sacred version of Stephen King’s “Stand By Me,” where four young boys take a “pilgrimage” of sorts through the woods to view the body of a dead classmate who was hit by a train. Acutis’s body, which is on public display, looks like he’s sleeping.
Rod Dreher, an American conservative writer and editor living in Hungary, expounds on the life of Carlo Acutis in “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality.” (Castletown Media)
According to Carlo’s father, Assisi was Carlo’s favorite place. In 2019, his body was exhumed and placed on display in the Church of St. Mary Maggiore. His tomb opened to the public in October 2020. Though he has been deceased for 19 years, he looks rosy-cheeked and remarkably alive, owing to the silicone that the Church has fitted over his face and hands.
Miracles
The film then goes on to discuss the two miracles attributed to Carlo Acutis. The first, in 2013, involved a Brazilian boy born with a malformed pancreas. He wasn’t expected to live past 5 years old. He was miraculously healed after his mother prayed for Acutis’s intercession, after Acutis’s death.
The second case took place in 2022, in Florence, Italy, where a 21-year-old woman suffered a head injury in a bicycle accident. Though she had almost no chance of survival, her mother prayed at Acutis’s tomb in Assisi. On the exact same day, her daughter’s condition drastically improved, and she eventually experienced a full recovery.
Family photo of Carlo Acutis in “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality.” Castletown Media
A Role Model
As a former summer camp counselor, I particularly enjoyed being reminded of the innocence and open-mindedness of young teens. “Carlo Acutis” depicts in real time how the students are affected by the holiness of someone of their own era, who walked in their shoes, and used the internet the way it’s supposed to be used. Per the film’s title, Acutis’s life is a roadmap to sainthood, intended to be achievable for every person.
It’s difficult to get a sense of Carlo, the person, via this film, other than what his mother and friends relate. They say he was highly persuasive in getting his friends interested and enthusiastic regarding all things faith-based. In this day and age when cynicism and skepticism know no bounds, that speaks to a remarkable level of warmth, energy, and charisma. It’s often mentioned that Carlo befriended the homeless and downtrodden.
Other articles written about him talk about his chastity. His mother related that he would close his eyes during risqué television commercials. He is reported to have described the Virgin Mary as “the only woman in my life.” Vatican investigators reviewed Carlo’s browsing history, and found that during all those hours at his computer, he never visited pornographic sites.
Carlo Acutis recognized the internet as an important tool. His website was intended to pique people’s interest, subvert and usurp the devil’s influence, and harness the internet to evangelize. Like Father Flanagan before him, Carlo Acutis wanted all of humanity to embrace its true path—that of sainthood.
The premiere of “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality” was April 21st. Some cities will be extending the theatrical run until May 8th. To find a theater near you showing the film, go to: https://carloacutisfilm.com/buy-ticket/
Promotional poster for “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality.” Castletown Media
‘Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality’
Director: Tim Moriarty, Christian Surtz
Documentary
Running Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Release Date: April 27, 2025
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
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Mark Jackson
Film Critic
Mark Jackson is the chief film critic for The Epoch Times. In addition to film, he enjoys martial arts, motorcycles, rock-climbing, qigong, and human rights activism. Jackson earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Williams College, followed by 20 years' experience as a New York professional actor. He narrated The Epoch Times audiobook "How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World," available on iTunes, Audible, and YouTube. Mark is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
