Pugnus Dei
Mathis Landwehr as Lasko.
I’m back from a vacation in Assisi, where I spent some time at the various sites that are steeped in the generous spirit of St. Francis. Against that background, it was all the more strange to tune in one night to a TV show that featured a fictional order of Catholic monks who serve the church as kung fu warriors. What made it especially jarring was that these monks wore a brown outfit that closely resembles the habit of the Franciscan order.
Since I had trouble following the Italian, it took me a while to figure out that these were not Franciscans but rather members of the secret religious order “Pugnus Dei,” or Fist of God. The plot was Dan Brown meets Bruce Lee, with a hunky blond monk named Lasko kicking, flipping, flying and scampering up and down walls to defend a bishop against a hit squad of hi-tech gangsters. The image of a kung fu fighter in what appeared to be Franciscan clothing was truly bizarre. St. Francis made a point of surrendering to any violence done to him, after all.
The show is a popular German TV series, Lasko: Die Faust Gottes, which is based on an earlier movie. In the Italian-translated episode I chanced on, the monk Lasko, played by German martial-arts actor Mathis Landwehr, used his kung fu moves to beat up bad guys as he fought to get to Rome to report to a cardinal on the activity of a crime syndicate bent on attacking the church. In one scene, he leaps from a bridge to a hovering helicopter to subdue a gunman who was spraying a bishop’s car with gunfire. According to Variety, Lasko is one of Germany’s highest-rated TV series.
What to make of this? I think the show’s popularity suggests a nostalgia for the imagined church of the Middle Ages, of Templars and Crusades, of power and righteousness – an escape from both the secularism of today’s Europe and the moral problems of the contemporary church.
Wow.
This is the best straight line I’ve seen in a long time.
Possible American spin-offs (rip-offs?):
Vatican Five-0
Benedict the XVI, P.I. (ABC)
Benedict’s Angels (CBS)
Starsky & The College of Cardinals
The Rockford Curia Files
Biretta
Vatican Vice
What to make of this?
Geez, so many possibilities come to mind, but first off, how do they keep their underpants from showing if they’re flipping around doing kung fu moves?
Jean: the wearing of that garment is an assumption that may/may not be borne out in fact. Think Scottish kilts.
This reminds me of the humorous Facebook group I started, “Pontifical Revolutionary Front for Reclaiming the Papal States.” Some stuff from the group profile:
Description:The revolution has begun — reclaim the papal states for St. Peter!
Next year in Naples!
Office: Undisclosed Side Chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica
Recent News:
* Rumor has it that the Third Secret of Fatima is really a strategic battle plan for the use of incense in a “Wonder and Awe” campaign, which can only come about after the Pope consecrates Madagascar to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
* We are pleased to report that the Little Sisters of the Poor have most generously volunteered their assistance in smuggling arms to Assisi! In addition, Johnnette Benkovik of EWTN’s “The Abundant Life” will lead a newly-organized Sodality of the Most Holy Rosary in their cavalry charge, which, ever attentive to the signs of the times, will ride not horses, but motorcycles.
Also:
We are now accepting applications for positions in our marauding hordes. Successful applicants will demonstrate efficient prayer habits and a solid ultramontanist ethic, along with strong people skills and a proven track record of toppling illegitimate, schismatic governments. At least two years prior experience in a faith-based organization or another marauding horde preferred, but not required.
… [Trackback] …
[...] Read More here: commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=9198 [...] …