Are there really people like this (i.e., the male lead) in this world of ours? Can it be true?

If there are (and evidently there are) – it just made my heart soar through the highest of heavens.

Of course, none of us would wish the horrific tragedy that befell this young man upon anyone. I, personally, do not feel that it should have ended his career aspirations. Succinctly, he was a good person.

Sadly, however, the best of humanity suffers more fully – because of their acute sensitivity and heightened conscience. If there is a God – I believe this is what He demands of us. One has only to compare the behavior of the other individual in the car (the manager) – and the protagonist’s searing agony – to see what I mean.

Oh…..to be able to offer joy and alleviation to someone like this – what a wonderful act of self-giving that would be.

Yesterday was November 23 – the 33rd anniversary of a damnable act (i.e., date rape) that I wish had never occurred. However, I’m pleased that I passed the afternoon viewing this cinematic jewel for the second time.

I would encourage everyone to see it – and see it again. Because, after you’ve seen it once – the opening scene carries much more resonance. Trust me.

It does not matter that I cannot go back in time. What does matter is this: when people work together to elicit the best in one another – they collaborate with God to effect wondrous things.

“Bella” is a film that none of us should avoid seeing – and pondering in our hearts long after the curtain closes.

This is a brilliant, heartwarming film about the transforming power of love – family love, the dignity and worth of healthy friendships, and, last but certainly not least………the possibilities with which we can enact transending joy in the wake of wrenching tragedy.

This film resonated very, very deeply with me indeed. Although still pro choice, I have found, in recent months, that I must powerfully agree with the statement earlier this year of a local Catholic author and lecturer: A confluence of sin surrounded me 33 years ago. Thus, I have no difficulty judging my own situation – without casting judgments on others.

This deeply affecting film brought this point home: When kindness and compassion are conferred to others, wondrous events can occur. Difficulty and suffering may ensue, but they can (and sometimes should) be withstood.

I could not do so three decades ago – but I wish I could have brought joy and alleviation to someone else’s life. In so doing, I believe this may have helped me, too.

Run – don’t walk – to see “Bella.” Whether pro-choice or anti-choice – religionist or atheist – this film speaks to all of us who have compassion for others.

One word of caution: Owing to one agonizing scene, I would not recommend the film to pre-teenagers. Let us allow our young to be innocent of human tragedy – either to experience it or to observe it – if we can avoid it.

However, I must reiterate: By the film’s climactic closing scene, no one can avoid soulful reflection – and enduring respect. Moreover, the filmmakers show that respect for life must encompass all aspects of the human condition – something the male lead in this film makes very, very clear.

All in all – I’m glad I spent my Thanksgiving evening viewing “Bella” – and not spending undue time in anger and resentment. All things considered, I could have put the finishing touches on a vignette called “When Your Rapist Becomes a Cripple” and sent it to Saturday Night Live – but I saw this instructive film instead.

And that’s one choice that brings unfettered peace.