Madre Teresa (TV 2003)

Mother Teresa - the movie: the inspirational portrayal of Mother Teresa, a simple nun who became one of the most significant personalities of the 20th Century. Armed with a faith that could... See full summary »

Director:

Fabrizio Costa

Writers:

Massimo Cerofolini, Francesco Scardamaglia

Stars:

Olivia Hussey, Sebastiano Somma, Ingrid Rubio

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Olivia Hussey	...	Mother Teresa
Sebastiano Somma	...	Father Serrano
Ingrid Rubio	...	Virginia / Agnese
Michael Mendl	...	Van Exem
Guillermo Ayesa	...	Perier
Emily Hamilton	...	Anna
Neil Stuke	...	Kline
Valeria Cavalli	...	Drana Boiaxhiu
Nimmi Harasgama	...	Sister Celes
Hannah McBride	...	Julie
Carlo Cartier	...	Surgeon
Azzurra Antonacci	...	Gonxha - 18 years old
Guido Roncalli	...	Official
Philip Jackson	...	Logan
Tom Alter	...	Forster (as Thomas Beach Alter)

Storyline

Mother Teresa - the movie: the inspirational portrayal of Mother Teresa, a simple nun who became one of the most significant personalities of the 20th Century. Armed with a faith that could move mountains, Mother Teresa followed her calling to help the poor, the lepers, the dying and the abandoned children in the slums of Calcutta, challenging many authorities - including the church - along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

mother teresa | nun | charity | calcutta india | character name in title

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Taglines:

Her heart found the forgotten, her faith found a way.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Country:

Spain UK Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 2003 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Filming Locations:

Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blue Star Movies, Euroficción S.L., Lux Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

User Reviews

Could have been so much better

Making a film about a religious figure is a perilous enterprise, particularly if the person involved is still alive or recently dead, and even more so when she is one of the outstanding personalities of the twentieth century.

Happily this movie has managed to steer very effectively between the opposing dangers of cynicism and over-the-top enthusiasm which are the hallmarks of most religious movies. They have stuck very firmly to the facts, while allowing the personality of Mother Teresa to shine through, effectively revealing her powerful faith, her amazing strength, her heroic charity and self-sacrifice, but also her moments of doubt, weakness and vulnerability.

There are few really great religious movies. This could have been one of them.

The production is superb, the direction and the acting excellent, and Olivia Hussey does a magnificent job in a very difficult role. What spoils it is the structure: a series of excellent parts which do not really make a very coherent whole. The producers have tried to do too much, to include too many incidents, and as a result the storyline is sadly lacking in continuity.

I see from the IMDb notes that the Italian running time is 180 minutes, almost 40% longer than the English language version. Perhaps the problem lies with the editing, and the longer version does a much better job. All I can say is that they should have opted for doing some bits of Mother Teresa's story extremely well rather than attempting the whole thing and botching it.