Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973)
In his delirium from his return from war, Francesco Bernardone goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. He slowly recovers, but after the illness he is no longer the Francesco that everybody knew. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he meditates on the beauty of God's creatures, soon renouncing his riches and his family with plans to rebuild an abandoned church and his life.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Similar titles
Reviews
This movie was a cult favourite in a repertory movie house in Montreal in the 70s. I understood why when I saw it on DVD format.As we know Franco Zeffirelli, he did great with either Shakespeare flicks (Romeo and Juliet among others) or Jesus of Nazareth, nor he did not so with Endless Love.This time he succeeded with the rendering of Francis of Assisi's life.Back from the war, wounded emotionally, Francisco found peace by seeing a lark on the roof, and rejecting the luxuries of his father's business. He abandoned all this to a life of poverty and sacrifice, rebuilding a sanctuary with some friends who joined him on the way, including Clare, a former love interest of his. However, the higher clergy jealousy takes over him and his new order, Francis must ask for forgiveness to the leader of Christianity: Pope Innocent III.With songs by Donovan and strong interpretation, beautiful photography and well written script, this is one of the best Christian stories ever told.Now I understood why it was such a cult favourite.
Despite Brother Sun, Sister Moon has a stunning photography, epic music, and amazing actors, the true value of this movie is the ability to reset your soul and let you enter Francesco's heart. The movie actually drives you into the exact mood of Francesco (and the Zeffirelli's Flower Power message): "return to the roots of purity and love" This is one of my favorites movies ever, everything is at it's best: the camera is like a paintbrush, the actors are more than real, the music can move you and let you cry. I recommend this movie to anybody who is willing to clean his spirit from outside noise. It works, once watched, you will feel changed.
My Anglican cum Lutheran grandfather was a projectionist when this movie came out and said he hated the movie, complained that St. Francis was a crazy hippie. I finally had a chance to see it last night, and while my grandfather wasn't exactly wrong, I don't think he knew much about Francis of Assisi, the 12th century Italian visionary. Zeffirelli's depiction of the life of St. Francis is touching and beautiful. The art direction and cinematography are stunning -- the colours of nature and of the Bishop's court are rich and vivid, unlike the clothing of the Poor Brothers of San Damiano and the poor they served. Donovan's soundtrack works perfectly, and Alec Guiness as Pope Innocent III is wonderful. Maybe Francis was a bit of a crazy hippie, but he was just what the Church needed. Inspiring movie!
Francis of Assissi depicted as the first hippie. That's not really a ridiculous comparison. After all, Godspell depicts Jesus and the Apostles as hippies, as well, far more annoyingly, I may say, than Zefferelli depicts these characters. I actually started off really enjoying this picture. I thought it was sweet, lovely, and beautiful. It helps a lot if you like Donovan. I know that he's kind of dopey, but I've always found his mellowing tunes quite pleasant. None of his songs here are among his best (in fact, not a one appears on the anthology I own, which contains other work on soundtracks), but they're pretty good. Unfortunately, the film never really goes anywhere. It plateaus early and only reaches a little further in its climax, when Francis and his followers ask the Pope (Alec Guiness, in what amounts to a cameo) to bless their order. The only really good Francis of Assissi movie I've seen is Roberto Rossellini's The Flowers of St. Francis.