Vignettes of the life of one of the most revered saints in Italy, St. Francis of Assisi, gets a surprising light account in the hands of Roberto Rossellini, one of the masters of the Italian cinema. The film was co-written by the director himself, and Federico Fellini. Two other priests contributed to the screen play.
St. Francis, a mythical figure of the XIII century, is a man that leads a handful of monks to follow him around in the Umbrian countryside doing good deeds and teaching tolerance, humility and acceptance. Francis is made to look like a benign tyrant to the men that follow him without ever questioning why he does the things he does. The emphasis of the story is showing the simple life this man led and how inspired the others.
In comparison, St. Francis legacy was an inspiration for Giotto, and some of the other great painters of that period in glorifying his memory in works that are so rich, they clearly contrast with what Francis was trying to to in the first place. All those present churches contrast so vividly with the simple abodes this saintly man and his followers lived in.
The film has an episodic feeling. Each short tale has a different feeling showing the range of this man's way of looking at life. Aldo Fabrizi plays St. Francis and some monks from the Nocera Inferiori monastery appear as his followers.
"The Flowers of St. Francis" shows a different Rossellini in a film that bears no relation with some of his other work for the cinema.
St. Francis, a mythical figure of the XIII century, is a man that leads a handful of monks to follow him around in the Umbrian countryside doing good deeds and teaching tolerance, humility and acceptance. Francis is made to look like a benign tyrant to the men that follow him without ever questioning why he does the things he does. The emphasis of the story is showing the simple life this man led and how inspired the others.
In comparison, St. Francis legacy was an inspiration for Giotto, and some of the other great painters of that period in glorifying his memory in works that are so rich, they clearly contrast with what Francis was trying to to in the first place. All those present churches contrast so vividly with the simple abodes this saintly man and his followers lived in.
The film has an episodic feeling. Each short tale has a different feeling showing the range of this man's way of looking at life. Aldo Fabrizi plays St. Francis and some monks from the Nocera Inferiori monastery appear as his followers.
"The Flowers of St. Francis" shows a different Rossellini in a film that bears no relation with some of his other work for the cinema.