This is the fourth film I have watched on the subject, following efforts by similarly renowned directors: Roberto Rossellini's THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS (1950), Michael Curtiz' FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1961) and Franco Zeffirelli's BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON (1972); curiously enough, Cavani had already dealt with the titular saint's life in her acclaimed (if rarely-screened) 1966 debut feature with Lou Castel. This particular version, then, got some mileage out of the fact that the lead role would be essayed by Hollywood bad boy Mickey Rourke – other than that, there seemed to be little discernible point in making yet another trip to this particular well
unless Cavani, the controversial lady behind THE NIGHT PORTER (1974), relished the opportunity of 'realistic' wallowing in the squalor inherent in the medieval setting (even including some unwarranted gore and full-frontal nudity). Rourke seems more mystified than mystic, wrong-headedly approaching the role as if it were an "Angry Young Man" type!; in that respect, the spiritual calling experienced by the nobleman of Assisi is distinctly unconvincing here (while his acknowledged affection for animals is barely touched upon) – with the result that the entire film is seldom inspiring. Interestingly, events play out in flashback – with St. Francis' disciples gathered to reminisce subsequent to his death: prominence, and an atypical though much-needed female perspective, is given to his former love (forcefully played by Helena Bonham Carter). While his work usually proved an asset to any film, Vangelis's electronic score in this case is clearly out-of-place and hardly memorable. Finally, the print on the budget DVD I watched was quite horrendous: apart from being the choppy U.S. theatrical version (which was cut down by almost 40 minutes from the Italian original), it sported a hazy sub-VHS quality and, at one point, even duplicated a few seconds of film within the same scene!
Review of Francesco
