New film depicts the powerful role St. Joseph can play in marriages, families

In a society where marriage and the family are constantly under attack, a new film is highlighting how St. Joseph can be a powerful intercessor for marriages and families facing hardships.

“Saint Joseph: Guardian of the Family” tells the story of a married couple facing a serious marital crisis. After the husband — a journalist — is assigned to investigate testimonies of people who claim to have experienced the intercession of St. Joseph, he begins to be personally impacted by the beloved saint and is inspired to become the guardian of his own family, striving to fix the struggles they face.

Based on true stories, the film shows how love can heal the deepest of wounds and highlights how St. Joseph is a model for fatherhood and marriage.

Made by the Polish production studio Rafael Film, “Saint Joseph: Guardian of the Family” was made through the crowdfunding efforts of more than 5,000 people in Poland and several other countries. After a successful run in theaters internationally, the film will be released in theaters across the United States on April 23.

Dariusz Regucki, the film’s director, told EWTN News in an interview that the film was inspired by Father Jacek Płota, custodian of the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Kalisz, Poland, and a “great devotee” of St. Joseph.

Before working on the film, Regucki was not very familiar with St. Joseph.

“I had no prior personal experiences with St. Joseph … It was only when I received the proposal to make the movie from Rafael Film — something I am still very grateful for — and began working on the script that I started discovering our protagonist for myself,” he shared.

He added that while making the film he “had to remain very careful not to create any caricature of St. Joseph — one that, for example, would merely fulfill our expectations. St. Joseph is a silent yet obedient man, and he simply does his work. He is very concrete. He does not complain, does not grumble, and does not feel sorry for himself.”

“This deeply moved me. St. Joseph inspires me as a father and as a husband. In the rush of everyday life, he makes me stop and, at times, look at myself — almost with embarrassment — as if in a mirror,” he said. “It confronts me with the truth and pulls me out of alienation and my comfort zone. St. Joseph shows me what true love really is.”

The Polish filmmaker said he hopes viewers “will leave the cinema moved and full of hope — holding the hand of his wife, partner, or fiancée, perhaps for the first time in many years. It’s simple, yet very difficult. But it is possible to look at one another with love and say, ‘I love you.’”

He added: “To my viewer — who is so often lost and lonely — I propose that through the story told in the film, and through St. Joseph, they look upward, stop dwelling on their sadness and suffering, and begin to affirm life. This is the message St. Joseph brings to us, and this is how I portray him in my film.”