Main Cast: Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Alec Guinness, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham
Release Year: 1973
Country: UK/IT
Run Time: 121 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
St. Francis of Assisi was an extraordinarily complex and difficult figure whose effect on his contemporary society was electrifying. Even today, many people are moved by his visionary message of universal toleration. Twelfth-century Italy had an exceptionally grim and regimented society, but the barefoot monk from Assisi undoubtedly had the courage that comes from deep faith and was able to transcend the oppressiveness of the time. In this Italian/British-produced film, director Franco Zeffirelli attempts to bring his vision of this great man to the screen. The contemporary (1970s) example of the hippie movement contributed a great deal to the style in which the story is told. The musical score, using ancient Italian melodies, was arranged by Donovan. The film is visually beautiful in a way which tends to minimize the squalor of the times. As the movie begins, Francis (Graham Faulkner) is the son of wealthy merchants, and enjoys his share of wine, women and song without serious thought. When war and disease devastate his neighborhood, Francis undergoes an anguished transformation which culminates in his appearing before the local bishop and removing his clothes to renounce his previous life and family before dedicating himself to God. The culminating dramatic moment is Francis' appearance before Pope Innocent III (Sir Alec Guinness), to make his case for an independent religious order under new rules. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Review
Stunning visual metaphors irradiate this 1972 production about a man who gave up everything -- wealth, rank, and the pleasures of the flesh -- to wear rags, beg food, and seek God in a leper or a field of flowers. More a poem than a biography, the film exalts Francis of Assisi's spirit and message while ignoring the complexity of his personality. For this reason, critics who reviewed the film after its debut sometimes traduced it as pretty fluff, lacking substance. However, as a cinematographic poem, the film succeeds brilliantly, juxtaposing symbols of worldly riches -- silks, jewels, and scepters of power -- with symbols of spiritual riches -- shoeless friars chanting for joy, a meadow aflame with Umbrian colors, and a trusting sparrow perching on the hand of Francis. In one memorable scene, Francis strips bare before the steps of a cathedral while townspeople and splendidly robed churchmen look on in bemusement. It is director Franco Zeffirelli's way of demonstrating the depth of Francis' commitment to unadorned devotion to God. It is true that Zeffirelli trains his lens on Francis the Simple rather than Francis the Complex, the soldier, writer, mystic, reformer, traveler, and dynamic leader who engineered a revolution in religious thought. But probing psychoanalysis would be out of place in this film. It is like a song, not unlike the one Francis himself wrote in 1225: "Praise to thee, my Lord, for all thy creatures -- above all Brother Sun Who brings us the day and lends us his light." Graham Faulkner is convincing as the boyish, almost childlike, Francis. And Alec Guinness is superb as Pope Innocent III, a role he lobbied for before converting to Catholicism. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Former Information Society producer Paul Robb and Twin/Tone solo act Barbara Cohen united in 1996 to form the trip-hop duo Brother Sun Sister Moon. The group's smoky debut album flaunted Cohen's seductive vocal work and Robb's tested production pyrotechnics. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Featuring Zeffirelli's signature lush photography, Brother Sun, Sister Moon was conceived and executed in much the same visual manner as his Academy Award-winning adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (1968). Brother Sun Sister Moon attempts to draw parallels between the work and philosophy of Saint Francis and the ideology that underpinned the worldwide hippie movement of the 1960s and early '70s. The film is also known for the score composed by Riz Ortolani.
Graham Faulkner portrays Francesco, the spoiled son of a wealthy merchant. Following his return from war, Francesco renounces all his worldly possessions to live an ascetic and simple life as a man of God and nature. Much to the dismay of his family, friends and the local bishop, he gradually gains a large following amongst the poor and the suffering.
Clare, a young woman also of a wealthy family, serves and cares for lepers of the community. Francis is inspired by her example, and in return, after his community forms, she comes to join the brothers in their life of poverty.
The film contrasts Francis's innocence, piety and virtue with the worldliness of many ecclesiastical officeholders, who are depicted as greedy and concerned with internal politics.
Cast
The film features a cast of newcomers and screen veterans:
The romantic soundtrack was by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, which reflected the 'flower power' mood of Zeffirelli's film and the cinematography in particular. Donovan also sang all the songs on the soundtrack itself. The composer Leonard Bernstein had originally been approached to provide a score but the plans fell through. However Bernstein used some of the planned material in his Mass.
In 2004, Donovan re-recorded the songs from the long out-of-print soundtrack. Brother Sun, Sister Moon was released exclusively on iTunes Store.
