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The Criterion DVD release of Rossellini's Flowers of St. Francis offers a fully restored version in high contrast black and white of the long unavailable 1950 film, considered one of Rossellini's finest. It is interesting that two of the finest films about religion, The Gospel According to St, Matthew and Flowers of St. Francis, were directed by avowed atheists, (Pier Paolo Pasolini and Roberto Rossellini), both capturing, through non-professional acting and neo-realist technique, a sense of purity and poetry missing in the heavy-handed message of newer religious films. Unlike Pasolini, however, Rossellini's film does not contain peak dramatic moments or even a linear narrative.

It is a series of vignettes that does not attempt a history of the period or a biography of St. Francis of Assisi as did the woeful Brother Sun, Sister Moon by Zefferelli. Rather it shows Francis, a 13th century monk who founded the order known as the Franciscan Friars and his followers (particularly brother Ginepro) in easy going and often light-hearted fashion going about their daily life with devotion and humility before God. While I do not subscribe to the idea that allegiance to God requires extreme self-denial, the film is persuasive in showing the simple compassion of the Friars and how it changed the lives of the people around them, although the line between simple and simple-minded as depicted by Rossellini is often tenuous.

Flowers does not attempt to bludgeon us with a point of view, but suggests by example that there is an alternative way to live our lives that does not involve ego and greed. The episodes illustrate different aspects of Franciscan life, all introduced by intertitles. In the first, the brothers seek to find shelter in a pouring rain in a little hut they have built in the woods near Assisi. When they arrive, they discover that a farmer has appropriated the hut with his donkey and refuses to let the brothers in. Francis responds by telling his followers, "Have we not now reason to rejoice? Providence has made us useful to others." In another episodes, Ginepro cuts off a pig's foot for a meal requested by a hungry ailing brother. Unfortunately, no one questions what brother pig thinks about his leg being sacrificed and the episode left me feeling queasy.

In other sequences, the Friars prepare a rebuilt chapel to receive Sister Chiara, Francis meets a leper during his walk and embraces him in a childlike, loving manner, and Ginepro is provided lessons on how actions rather than words win souls for God. In one of the later sequences played mostly for laughs but with a potent message, Ginepro is in danger of losing his life to a group of bandits led by the corpulent Nicolaio until the power of faith rules the day. Flowers of St. Francis presents an idealized version of a "pure" form of Christianity and promotes love, humility, and compassion for the poor. While the film is a welcome antidote to the cynicism and despair common in films these days, ultimately it leaves the viewer to decide whether or not excessive missionary zeal practiced by those who are convinced they alone have the true faith has been a positive or negative force throughout history.

The film is a series of vignettes depicting the monks in various encounters with each other and locals in the surrounding countryside. Each scene has a point, but the "lessons" are imparted with grace, subtlety and tranquil ease. Watching this film is a very calming, quiet experience. Other than the dialogue of the brothers (in Italian), what one hears most of the time in the soundtrack is the sound of chirping birds and falling water. Not a film that everyone will enjoy but if the idea of following humble, simple monks around the medieval countryside appeals to you at all, I recommend this DVD highly. Considering that this movie was released just five years after the end of WWII, perhaps it was an attempt to remind Italians and Europeans in general of this long-departed but timeless advocate of peace and non-violence.

This is an enjoyable adaptation about Saint Francis (1182-1226) by Roberto Rosselini. Set in 13th century and depicting various episodes about his existence , these are the followings : 1) How Fray Junipero appears naked after give out his soutane to a poor 2 )How the old John abandons his family , follows and imitates St. Francis 3)Concerning the marvelous encounter between St Clare and St Francis 4)How Fray Junipero cut a pig's foot and gave it a sick person 5)How St Francis found a leper into the night 6) How Fray Junipero was condemned to death but his humility vanquished tyrant Nicolas (Aldo Fabrizi) 7) How St Francis and Father Lion experimented the perfect mirth 8) How St Francis came out from St. Mary of Angels to evangelize for around the world .

The motion picture is an agreeable portrayal on known Saint well played by Pino Locci and secondary intervention by Aldo Fabrizi as an armored villain in the best chapter . The roles of St. Francis and his disciples were played by monks from the Nocere Inferiore monastery . Rather than shooting on stage, they shot on locations and quite often used non professional actors. Most of the performers in the film, with exception of Aldo Fabrizi, are real Franciscian monks . "The Flowers of St. Francis" was edited for its 1952 US release, with Rossellini's chapter-like inter titles and a couple of scenes removed from the original Italian version . Evocative black and white cinematography by Otello Martelli and atmospheric musical score by Renzo Rosselini. Interesting screenplay by Rosselini , Brunello Rondi and participated the prestigious Federico Fellini . The picture is original and imaginatively directed by Roberto Rosselini who was one of a group of pioneering film makers of the neo-realist era . An excellent film-making for sympathy , simple way and brief touches of humor.

The film retrieves partially deeds about his life . The real events are the followings : Francis was son of a wealthy merchant , but he leaves his lush existence and he dedicates to help unfortunates , hapless and poor people . He suffers starvation , famine, and is taken prisoner during war among Italian cities , Perugia , Venice and Assis . Francis founds the Franciscan Order of monks , approved by Pope Innocence III (1210) and receiving his blessing . He's followed by St Clare as devote disciple , founding the Clarisan order of nuns (1212) . Francesco imposes a rigid rules of life and his thoughts were included in ¨Singing to brother sun or the Creatures¨ where he praises the poverty , joy and nature love and ¨The flowers of St. Francis¨ .

Other versions about the most famous Saint are : Hollywood version titled ¨Francis of Assisi¨ (60) by Michael Curtiz with Stuart Withman and Dolores Hart ; two rendition by Liliana Cavani , starred by Lou Castel and ¨Francesco¨ (1989) with Mickey Rourke and Helena Bonham Carter . And Franco Zeffireli version (1973) titled ¨Brother sun, Brither moon¨ with Alec Guinness, Judi Bowker and William Faulkner.

This is one of the most beautiful and humbling pictures I have seen. I discovered it recently along with three other Rossellinis, "India Matre Bhumi", "Fear", and "L'Amore" - all masterworks. But so far based on the first viewing, "Francesco, giullare di Dio" ranks with my absolute favorite Rossellini pictures, "Europa '51" & "The Rise of Louis XIV". From the sublime opening long shot of Franciscans arriving in Assissi to the final unforgettable moment where they all spin and fall on the ground and Rossellini's circular camera connects the earth, sky, and water in perfect harmony, "Francesco" is an authentic, invigorating piece of art.

The photography itself is a masterpiece; It has a harsh, genuine beauty and splendour: the scenes at the beginning where Franciscans are soaked in rain, or at daytime when they kiss one another and preach and start a fire, or scenes in which Brother G is brutally beaten or tortured by a tyrant, or at night time when Francesco encounters and kisses a leper are all magnificently shot.

"Francesco" is told in a series of disconnected vignettes, each documenting different daily events and experiences of the Franciscans. The vignettes are preceded by an introductory title (e.g. "How Brother G Cut the Leg of a Pig for a Sick Brother", "How Francesco Met and Kissed a Leper", etc). Although it is explicitly a religious document of St. Francis and his followers set in a bygone era, the feelings and impressions that emanate from it are timeless and universal.

It is the sort of picture that makes you feel alive or buoyant about life and humanity. "Francesco" is one of my absolute favorite films, a truly humbling masterpiece from one of cinema's great film artists.

Unfortunately, this is not an easy film to see. It is not available on video, and it is rarely if ever shown in commercial theaters, not even art houses. I was fortunate enough to see it at a local museum's Italian film series.

This film is exquisitely photographed and beautifully acted, mostly by non-professionals. It's depiction of Francis and his followers make the practice of Christianity seem almost zenlike; that is spirituality consists in being totally involved in whatever one is doing at the moment, in doing, not talking. This is such a relief from much of the pap that passes as religious film these days. See it if you can.

Most religious films are somber affairs, made by religious men. So Francesco, giullare di Dio is an odd religious movie. It lacks any readings from scripture, or even any quotation. It's made by Rossellini, and the title means "Francis, Jester Of God." It's a long long way from here to Diary Of A Country Priest.

We've had St. Francis movies, of course. Most (in)famous is Zeffirelli's Brother Sun, Sister Moon: St. Francis as hippie. But this was the best. It was shot more or less on location, in the Italian countryside. It stars non-professionals (of course; Rossellini was a neo-realist). Fortunately, it stars a bunch of monks as...a bunch of monks following St. Francis.

In a brisk 75 minutes, Rossellini sketches a bunch of events: St. Francis meeting a leper, a cook learning why actions win souls, not words, etc. There's little music, and, oddly, not really much time spent with St. Francis himself. He's a side character; the thing of real interest is the daily lives and lessons of the monks.

At the end, Francis sends the monks off on their own to preach. They spin in circles, fall down, and wherever their head points, that's where they go. Religion is a journey, not an urgent reason to convert others. This supremely generous and uninsistent film is surely one of the best religious films ever made, full of nature and joy.

The film consists of several short vignettes depicting various encounters and occurrences involving the 13th century monk Francis of Assisi, as well as his small group of followers who would go on to become the Franciscan Order. Dedicated to lives of poverty and piety, they struggle to survive while searching for the good in all things. As well as focusing on Francis (Nazario Gerardi), much time is spent on Brother Juniper/Ginapro (Severino Pisacane), known as the "Jester of God", a good-hearted but simple-minded follower of Francis.

Rossellini's Neo-Realist sensibilities continue with his casting of real Franciscan monks to play Francis and his followers. In fact, the only professional actor involved was Fabrizi, playing a vicious warlord. The script, co-written by Rossellini and Federico Fellini with some later input by a pair of Catholic priests, contains a lot of humor. The movie is both pious and light-hearted, and it rarely if ever feels like it is preaching. It's also not a traditional biopic of St. Francis, as one might expect, but rather it seeks to illuminate the man through his works and interactions with others. The film also evokes its time period well, with none of the Hollywood glamorization one usually finds with historical pieces.

An odd little film, but so exhilarating that I don't think the experience will ever leave me. I can't even really say why it pleased me so much, but it's the kind of film that just makes you appreciate the beauty of the world around you. It's so gentle and miraculous. The film follows the simple life of Francis of Assisi and the friars who followed him. Born the son of a rich merchant, he practiced poverty to honor Christ. We see vignettes as they were described in the titular hagiography (no doubt adapted freely by the screenwriters, among whom was Federico Fellini). They are often beautiful and touching, but more often than not they have a tinge of comedy. In fact, you can really see Fellini's talent starting to emerge here. The style is very reminiscent of his early work. Within Rossellini's career, it eclipses probably all of his other films, many of which are admittedly fantastic (I think Stromboli, which was released near the same time, is a close second best). There's just a beauty in it. I am not Catholic and know nothing of St. Francis of Assisi, so I don't know if I'm missing anything. But to me it felt like a true celebration of humanity.

The film dramatizes about a dozen vignettes from the life of St. Francis and his early followers - starting with their return in the rain to Rivotorlo from Rome when the Pope blessed their Rule and ending with their dispersal to preach.

Rossellini had a strong interest in Christian values in the contemporary world. Though he was not a practicing Catholic, Rossellini loved the Church's ethical teaching, and was enchanted by religious sentiment —- things which he felt were neglected in the materialistic world. I can appreciate this. While I am also not a practicing Catholic, I was raised in the tradition and love the rich history of the Church. Though the tenets are not for me, the values are universal and it is interesting to see how they have been carried out, in this case by creating an entire Order of priests.

The look of this film is beautiful, the black and white as stark and striking as the best Scandinavian films. In the era of the neo-realist Italian film, this really has the perfected look, and can be enjoyed both for its great storytelling and just its glorious imagery.

Heralded as "the most beautiful film in the world" by Francois Truffaut, and "amongst the most beautiful in Italian cinema" by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roberto Rossellini's landmark work was actually poorly received upon release. It is based on two books - Little Flowers Of St. Francis, a 14 century piece of literature, and The Life Of Brother Juniper, which both focus on the work of St. Francis and the early Franciscans. The former is composed of 78 chapters which, rather than tell one overarching story, focuses on small stories and incidents which sum up the ideals and attitudes of the Franciscans. Rossellini adopts the same approach, albeit in only 9 chapters, each with an introductory title card.

St. Francis (played by an uncredited real-life monk Brother Nazario Gerardi) lives with his fellow Franciscans in poverty, working what they can from the land and giving as much as they can to the poor and needy. It is a belief that has elevated St. Francis into such a popular religious figure, as his philosophy was that those who lived the most difficult of lives would be the closest the God. Among the nine stories that are told, they range in purpose and tone. Some of the greatest are Francesco accepting a half-crazy old man with open arms into the Franciscan order, one of the monks unwittingly stumbling upon an army only to be sentenced to death and then powerfully overthrowing a ruthless general, and Francesco's encounter with a leper, a scene which I will discuss in a bit more detail shortly.

Although not a practising Catholic himself, directed Roberto Rossellini fell in love with the sentimental teachings of faith, which seemingly had no place in the increasingly corporate and money-loving world. It made me fall in love with the idea. I'm not religious either, but the way the Franciscans are portrayed here, almost as poor farmers who are happy to give away as much as they earn, it made me almost warm to religion. It doesn't try to preach and instead delivers its message on a smaller scale. The monks preach with love and generosity.

The film was summed up in the scene where Francesco, out in a field alone late at night, cries as his love for God overcomes him. He is awoken from his prayers by the sound of clanging bells. As he checks out the noise, he sees a lone traveller in the field. As the traveller turns to face Francesco, we see he is a leper; his face rotting and disfigured, and his body hunched. Francesco approaches him and starts to kiss the man, in awe of his suffering. Even though the leper repeatedly pulls away from Francesco, he keeps following him. Eventually, Francesco embraces the leper and lets him go on his way. It is quite possible the most powerful scene I have ever scene in film history. Initially quite shocking when we first see the face of the leper, Francesco's pursuit and eventual embrace is such a profound sentiment.

Co-written by Italian master Federico Fellini, the film maintains its neo-realistic tones while managing something more prophetic and dreamlike. It feels like you are there with Francesco, being preached to, and living amongst the colourful characters in the beautiful location where the Franciscans have settled. It manages to squeeze so much beauty and power, along with some touching comic moments, into a slim running time that never feels short, and doesn't suffer for it.

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Roberto Rossellini's "Francesco, giullare di Dio" is a strongly flawed, yet authentic look at the most beloved saint in Italy. As part of a propaganda project schemed by Giulio Andreotti and Felix Morlion (who worked on the script), the film shows us brief sections of the lives of Francis and his disciples as narrated in the Fioretti, but the usual rough feel of Neorealism is stained by an exasperating pace, awful performances (except for Giovanni il Semplice, whom I found brilliantly hilarious), even by the great Aldo Fabrizi, who plays an unbearable parody of himself, and mild dialogues. Fortunately, Rossellini's impactfully dirty cinematography and an ecstatic soundtrack make this movie worth watching, although with a lot of yawning all the way through.

I watched this recently on DVD and nodded off before the end. I have no doubt the artistically-minded will be up in arms but to be honest this is not really a film. A film should provide at least a semblance of entertainment, whether in action, photography, dialogue or story. The cast seems to be assembled from actual monks & country peasants but the naturalistic approach produces a result that looks entirely unnatural, with all the characters looking desperate to get their designated line into the dialogue. I was disappointed to waste part of my evening on this - heaven alone knows what a paying cinema audience would have made of it!

This is the true St. Francis, in humblest simplicity and poetical basics. All other St. Francis films fall flat to this slightly comic, episodic, rhapsodic and haphazard collection of idyllic insights in the lives of the humblest of saints and his equally lovable followers. Already the first scene sets the tone, as the friars come walking home towards Assisi after having been blessed and accepted as an order by the pope, and they splosh around in the mud and the rain with their bare feet, which they keep unshod throughout the film. They are all amateurs (like in most outstanding Italian films of this period), there is hardly one professional actor, and if there is you have to look for him, but they are all perfectly convincing and couldn't have acted better in sincerity and truthfulness - it's all solid gold of human basic reality and purity.

Rossellini made himself famous with "Rome - Open City" five years earlier, which made Ingrid Bergman abandon Hollywood to instead come filming with him, and seeing this film you understand the attraction. There is no Hollywood here, no artifice, no make-believe, no stardom, no luxury and garish show-off, just simple humanity. It's a masterpiece indeed, and the question is if it's not even more outstanding as such in its very basic black and white medieval neo-realism than even the acknowledged masterpiece "Rome - Open City".

A relief from much of the pap that passes as religious film these days. The depiction of Francis and his followers makes the practice of Christianity seem almost Kosher-like. Spirituality consists in being totally involved in whatever one is doing, rather than talking, at the moment. Flowers of St. Francis presents an idealized version of a "pure" form of Christianity and promotes love, humility, and compassion for the poor. While the film is a welcome antidote to current cynicism and despair, it ultimately leaves us to decide whether or not excessive missionary zeal practiced by those who are convinced they alone have true faith has been a positive or negative force throughout history.

"The Flowers of St. Francis" is a very unusual film. Instead of telling the life of St. Francis of Assisi in any traditional sense, the film is made up of several parables about him and his followers--stories that are most likely fictional. They are all meant to illustrate various lessons--such as humility, service and kindness. This makes the plot very episodic and somewhat disjoint. The film is also unusual, at least when seen today, because almost all the people in the film are non-actors. However, at the time, the Italian Neo-Realist movement (led by the likes of Rossellini and De Sica) stressed the extensive use of non-actors in natural settings--mostly because the country was bankrupt following WWII and had little other choice! But, what sets this apart is that the monks in the film are actually real monks! That is pretty amazing.

My enjoyment of this film was impaired, somewhat, by my having seen a recent documentary, "My Voyage to Italy". In it, Martin Scorsese discusses many of his favorite films. However, instead of just explaining what he likes in them or how they influenced him as a director, Scorsese goes on to explain the plots as well as the endings of many of these films! So, because he provided so many spoilers for "The Flowers of St. Francis", I didn't get nearly as much out of the film as I might have.

So is it worth your seeing it? Of course. The biggest reason is that these non-actors gave some amazing performances and the film is very artistic. It also is far less heavy-handed than most religious films. While I still would have preferred seeing the life story of St. Francis, I still did appreciate the work that went into making this lovely film. Additionally, its message of spirituality over religiosity is timeless and inspiring.

Having just seen Roberto Rossellini's "Francesco, giullare di Dio" (called "The Flowers of St. Francis" in English), I was surprised to find out that October 4 is his Feast Day. While I'll say that a lot of good work clearly went into the movie, I also have to say that it comes across as a little bit silly at times.

First, there's the entire sequence where they deal with tyrant Nicolaio. Nicolaio's followers - all looking like cavemen - basically play Keep The Brother Off Of The Ground when our protagonist arrives. But when we meet Nicolaio himself...it looks as if Yosemite Sam's head is sticking out of a mass of armor. Did Rossellini really intend for any scenes to look like that?! And the whole part about cutting off the pig's foot. I don't know what led the guy to believe that any pig would willingly give up one of its feet. Couldn't he have figured out that a pig probably wouldn't understand why a human would want its foot?! If anything, the friar was the real pig in that chapter.

OK, so many people will very likely take offense at my not taking this movie as seriously as Rossellini intended. Maybe the recent revelations that Mother Teresa had doubts about her own faith have made it seem less likely that St. Francis was that obsessed with his life as a friar. I should identify that I would recommend this movie, but would add that I interpreted some scenes as kind of silly (due in part to the overacting). Worth seeing, but just know what you're getting into.

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.

The comment about the film having 'not much depth' is absurd. I have rarely been moved to tears in a film but this one did it for me. Among all the absurdities, it captures some quite unique moments of meditation between Francis and God that we, the audience are very privileged to witness. The leper scene...beautiful moment of compassion, completely blew me away. The film cuts no corners and portrays rather blatantly the fact that NOBODY, not even St Francis is or was perfect, we're all foolish from time to time and must undergo humility to progress in the eyes of God. The fact is, saints like Francis and others lead a bleak existence, they lived hardcore lives and the rawness of this film captures that beautifully. The Mickey Rourke film is for those who see through a glass darkly.

Overall, and at first glance, Flowers of St Francis may not seem as special or unique as the "trilogy" of post-war films from Rossellini (few have had as good a run as that trilogy though, Paisan alone), but taken on its own terms the humble aims of this production, with a series of episodes about St Francis and his slightly naive, motley bunch of friars and Brothers who get into various encounters and adventures and mishaps, is actually what makes it interesting.

Rossellini is not trying to create anything else than what it is, which is a series of parables, some with a moral (if you go taking off a pig's foot, no matter the good intent, face the consequences of its owner), and some less so but with something to do with Capital F Faith (I kind of missed the point of the segment with the Sisters on a first watch). It's like he and Fellini want to give the audience a feeling like what it would be to spend a month at Sunday school, only it's far from boring. After all, Ginepro gets into enough mishaps - including almost getting himself killed by a bunch of locals who confuse Ginepro with a killer, and then that encounter with the big hairy dude is surprisingly funny - to make even the most cynical and hard-edged atheist to sit up and engage with the text on screen.

And, most notably, the scene with the Leper, who appears at night to Francis and against any expectations is confronted by the Monk with the love and care we can safely assume he hasn't had (or not in a long time), is as moving as anything he or any Italian filmmaker has directed or will ever direct. It's told with barely any dialog, it was the only thing I could remember from when Scorsese talked about the film in My Voyage to Italy, and it brought me to tears almost immediately. To go up to the one who has become the Ultimate Outcast, the one who has to live completely on their own, and say with a physical gesture "Hey, you matter, you're somebody, you are loved, it's ok," is profound and speaks to what is meaningful about Christianity or any religion at its purest.

Maybe not a film you'll think you're in the mood for, and it takes some time to get going. But Flowers of St Francis is memorable: a great minor film or a light-major work, if that makes any sense. 8.5/10.

Rossellini's Saint Francis surprise me entirely as way he exposes this most significant Saint of the Catholic church, he displayed several and specific events around the Franciscan on early days, the movie starts when Francis and his followers are back from Rome after got the premission of the Pope to create an order of the Franciscan, then they receiving Saint Clare surround by flowers, also has the sweeping moment when he meets the leper with bell in his neck, he was afraid but evoked by his primal feelings he goes the leper and kiss his face, crying on the ground at night, certainly the best segment on movie, other substantial episode is about when Fray Junipero was wrongly accused to try to kill the tyrannical Nicolas at siege of Viterbo, he was extremely wounded by the Nicolas's hordes, until the Nicolas himself set free so humble Fray and demmand all them be back on fields, a haughty Rossellini's version this catholic entity who haunting the world until now, he became the protector of natural environment and the animals, also states as early forerunner of the renaissance by many researchers!!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 9