So much better than Hollywood's 'St Francis of Assisi', the great strength of this film is that it tries to see the people of the Middle Ages as they saw themselves: understanding that their religion was not some kind of scam, but the thing that gave meaning to their lives. Hobbled by neither plaster sanctity nor cynicism, it's the only film I've seen that captures the freshness and innocence of Medieval spirituality. Plus there's a beautiful calm and simplicity to it that you rarely find in film' partly it's down to the direction but a lot of it is the performers, some of them real-life friars.
Like the book, the Little Flowers of St Francis, there is no 'story arc', no beginning and not really an end; the saint and his followers, played by real-life friars, live in an eternal and beautiful Now.
Like the book, the Little Flowers of St Francis, there is no 'story arc', no beginning and not really an end; the saint and his followers, played by real-life friars, live in an eternal and beautiful Now.