Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

Dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare.

Director:

Franco Zeffirelli

Writers:

Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Kenneth Ross

Stars:

Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Graham Faulkner	...	St. Francis of Assisi
Judi Bowker	...	Clare
Leigh Lawson	...	Bernardo
Kenneth Cranham	...	Paolo
Lee Montague	...	Pietro Di Bernardone
Valentina Cortese	...	Pica Di Bernardone
Alec Guinness	...	Pope Innocent III
Michael Feast	...	Silvestro
Nicholas Willatt	...	Giocondo
John Sharp	...	Bishop Guido
Adolfo Celi	...	Consul
Francesco Guerrieri	...	Deodato
Peter Firth
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robin Askwith	...	Minor Role (scenes deleted)
Rossano Attrotico

Storyline

The beginning of the thirteenth century, the town of Assisi in Italian Umbria. The son of a rich merchant, Francesco Bernardone, comes back ill from war. In his delirium, he goes back in his memories to the days when he spent time on parties and carnal pleasures. Yet, the shadow of the cross that he sees in fever brings an end to his old life. The armor which he calls "my death mask" appears to be his final clothing of the old human. He slowly recovers, but after the illness there is not the Francesco that was known to everybody any longer. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he spends them on meadows, instead of drinking, he meditates the beauty of God's creatures. Once, he encounters a ruined little church. There, from the old cross, Christ changes his life forever. Francesco renounces the riches, his family and starts to rebuild the Church as "il Poverello - the poorest of the poor." Soon, he gathers many people who are willingly built into a powerful new Spiritual Temple. Will ...

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | naked in public | barefoot male | cmnm | cmnm scene | 

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Taglines:

A Motion Picture That Celebrates The Timeless Joy of Original Innocence

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dye stains on his clothes (red and blue) are linked to the city colors of Assisi. The flags on the soldiers show a red/blue vertical split.

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Goofs

Francis is shown part way down the roof line when he picks up the bird, but without walking any further, he is at the end of the roof when he lets it go.

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Quotes

St. Francis of Assisi: We are all poor in the eyes of our Lord.

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Alternate Versions

The Italian version runs 14 minutes longer, has a different score (no Donovan) and is totally recut, almost to the extent of being a different film. The film is not a flashback, it begins as the boys travel to an attic where they've acquired suits of Armour, then into the credits, then an extended ride through the fields with totally different dialogue. Different scenes, shots and dialogue throughout.

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Connections

Version of The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)

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Soundtracks

Preghiera semplice
(Riz Ortolani-Benjamin)
Sung by Claudio Baglioni

User Reviews

My favorite movie of all time!

The filmography by Zefirelli is stunningly beautiful -- one of his best -- a masterpiece worthy of a Florentine artist (Zefirelli's home city).

Being an admirer of Francis of Assisi, I've seen several films which attempt to portray his life. This is the only one, in my opinion, which successfully captures the incredible SPIRIT of the man. It's a movie to experience with the heart rather than the head. It has made a lasting impact on my own faith and spirituality since I first saw it in Italy in the early eighties.

The Italian version of 'Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna' is edited differently and has the beginning scenes in an order slightly different from the English version.

Note: It's helpful to know something about the life of Saint Francis before viewing the film. Since it centers on his spiritual rebirth in Christ, it's rather sparse in other historical details of his life. Zefirelli assumes that the viewer already knows these -- as most Italians would. For example, when Francis first stands in silence and awe before the crucifix in the ruined church of San Damiano, Zefirelli assumes you know that this is the moment of Francis' conversion, that this is when Francis first heard Christ say, "Rebuild my church."

Details

Country:

UK Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Filming Locations:

Assisi, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Euro International Films, Vic Films Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1