François et le chemin du soleil

I finally ordered the video after renting it a dozen times! This film captures the essence of what I have read about St. Francis of Assisi. Faulkner, Bowker, and of course Alec Guinnes shine in their roles. I recognized the actress who played Francis' mother as the same actress who played Herodias in Jesus of Nazareth. Yes, it is a movie of the "flower children", but it is sincere and faultless. After so many viewings I even got used to Donovan! Zeffirelli did a wonderful job of directing, bringing out beautiful pieces of acting from all. The scene at the end with Pope Innocent III, Francis and his little band was as powerful as anything I've seen in film, religious or not. IMDB lists this film as Graham Faulkner's one and only! What happened to him I wonder?

Oh yes, we can look at this as a parable of the "hippies" and an anti-war, anti-establishment film (as if those are somehow "bad" things.) It is all that. Any director who cannot interpret through the lenses of his time is not a very good director. Zefferelli is a master at it. It may make the movies seem dated but that also is a sign of mastership as we see the life of Francis and also see life in the Vietnam era 1970s. The movie itself is hauntingly filmed in a dreamlike manner. It tells the story of Francis who we will later know as Saint Francis Of Assissi. It is not an attempt to tell the complete story of the saint, but to use episodes from his life to speak to the culture of the time. It is not a biography so much as it is an interpretation.

Upon seeing this movie in my young 20s, I fell in love (metaphorically speaking) with St. Francis of Assisi and the simple message of life that he practiced. Though many of the absolute facts were stretched, like in most "historic" films, the movie was completely on the mark about his simplicity and his love of nature and mankind. In addition, it gave a very plausible and probable glimpse of the love relationship he had with St. Clare, all in contrast with the idea of love and sexuality which we have in these times.

Though the Italian version soundtrack was not by Donovan, the English language songs he sang gave the movie great focus and support. I often wondered why it was only issued on vinyl in Italy, which is how I discovered Donovan's songs were not present. The music is sensitive and wonderful.

Both young actors, Bowker & Faulkner, fill their roles with perfection. Bowker is one of the most beautiful and sensitive young actresses of that period, so it is with wonder that she was not more utilized or popular.

Yes, the film does have the allegorical connection with the hippie movement, but that does not diminish the story nor the impact. In fact, rather, it parallels our times and served to connect me with the times of Francis, if that is possible.

Finally, Zeffirelli deserves a thanks for tackling this saint with compelling zeal, passion, sensitivity, and panache. As another reviewer here noted, the scenery will blow you away. And as a child of the 50s who grew up in the late 60s, this movie offset the idea of love having to be of a sexual nature, and elevated love to a plane where it becomes transcendent and transforming. Isn't that what love is supposed to do in our lives? I have had my own 2 sons watch it with me more than once as they were growing up, and they are mid-20s now.

It will be a hard film to find, but is viewable for any age without reservations and is well worth the search. (It is now available on DVD for around $10 or less.)

This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Whenever I feel down or my energy lags, I pop this film into my VCR and I'm transformed. The rythm of the movie is what I enjoy most. It is like a great symphony, with rising action that compliments the wonderful music by Donovan.

This is a film that is totally captive to its time and place. It's impossible to think of this movie being made five years earlier or later. It is completely a product of the early '70's. The brotherly love shown by the Franciscans of Assisi, the touching of man to man without a hint of homosexuality, would be unthinkable today.

Franco Zeffrelli is a master of setting up his camera and location shooting. Notice the great sweeps over the lovely red and yellow fields of Italy, and the use of the architecture of the region.

BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON

Aspect ratio: 1.75:1

Sound format: Mono

The early life of St. Francis of Assisi (Graham Faulkner), the son of a wealthy merchant who underwent a spiritual conversion following his experiences in the crusades and later renounced his worldly goods before establishing a holy order separate from traditional Church teachings.

Conceived and executed in much the same visual manner as his ultra-popular ROMEO AND JULIET (1968), Franco Zeffirelli's BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON attempts to draw parallels between the work and philosophy of St. Francis and the ideology which underpinned the worldwide hippy movement throughout the 1960's and early 70's. Hence the ragged-but-lyrical cinematography (by Ennio Guarnieri), fractured editing (by Reginald Mills), and the use of contemporary - but strangely timeless - folk songs written and performed by Donovan, all of which conjures the requisite mood of spiritual awakening whilst simultaneously dating the movie quite firmly within its period. Cynics will hate it, while others will embrace Zeffirelli's defiant romanticism. Daringly, Zeffirelli's script (co-written by Suso Cecchi d'Amico and Lina Wertmuller) contrasts Francis' piety and virtue with the bloated pomp of official Church doctrine, weighed down by internal politics and social indifference, though it's difficult to gauge if this represents a veiled attack on Christian orthodoxy or is simply a reflection of Francis' dismissal of outdated customs in favor of a return to Nature.

Lovingly crafted by Lorenzo Mongiardino (art direction) and Danilo Donati (costumes), the movie is toplined by a cast of gifted newcomers and screen veterans, including Judi Bowker (one of the most beautiful actresses of her generation), Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham, Valentina Cortese and Alec Guinness. But the film derives much of its strength from Faulkner as the young, battle-scarred nobleman laid low by his wartime experiences, who emerges from the horrors of conflict with a completely new and spiritual outlook on life. Faulkner was one of a handful of young actors (including FELLINI-SATYRICON's Hiram Keller and LISA AND THE DEVIL's Alessio Orano) who emerged from European cinema in the 1970's, handsome and talented in equal measure, to burn brightly and briefly before disappearing into relative obscurity. Here, Faulkner's intense beauty and fresh-faced innocence are illuminated by Guarnieri's worshipful camera and Zeffirelli's attentive direction, which places him center-stage throughout (there's even a generous, PG-level nude scene halfway through the movie). This was Faulkner's cinematic debut, and while Zeffirelli couldn't have made a better choice for such a crucial role, the director later described him as slightly aloof from his fellow actors, which may explain his subsequent retreat from showbusiness. But here, his grace and dignity are displayed in abundance, and it's hard not to fall in love with him, every time he appears on-screen.

The alternative Italian version (FRATELLO SOLE SORELLA LUNA) runs approximately 14 minutes longer and replaces Donovan's music with a fully orchestral score by Riz Ortolani. In related events, editor Mills produced a 16mm documentary entitled FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI: A FLORENTINE ARTIST (1973), compiled from footage shot during the making of the movie, featuring a lengthy interview with the director himself.