Francesco, giullare di Dio

(Francis, God’s Jester - English translation of Italiano title)
The Flowers of St. Francis (English Title)
1950
Roberto Rossellini - Director
Roberto Rossellini - Story & Screenplay
Frederico Fellini,
Fr. Antonio Lisandrini &
Fr. Félix Morlión
w/ Brunello Rondi (uncredited) - Screenplay

In 1950 Roberto Rossellini made a film based on Fioretti di San Francesco (Little Flowers of St. Francis) [itself based on Actus beati Francisci et sociorum eius]. Recently I had a chance to finally see the Criterion restoration of the movie. I was impressed with the quality of the restoration & there were some interesting bonus materials. But that is not what I want to focus on here.

The main focus is the movie itself. As noted, this is based on The Little Flowers of St. Francis. (A classic in itself. & 1 I highly recommend, preferably the Image edition by Raphael Brown as it is the only complete I know of.)

The movie can be basicly divided up into stories or vignettes like the book. In actuality, a couple of the vignettes combine a couple of stories from the book. To paraphrase Maria von Trapp, Rossellini did his Rossellinidizing, but still caught the heart of the stories. In other words, like you usually find in a movie adaptation, he did make some small changes. They do not detract from the heart of the book though. Since the movie is told in vignettes, there is no overall story arch, just as in the book. the only connection is that they are all about the early days of the Franciscans. Again, like the book.

As far as casting went, he did something very interesting, & worked perfectly. Except of St. Clare, her companions, Nicolaio the Tyrant & Brother Giovanni the Simpleton, he used Franciscan monks from the nearby Franciscan Nocere Inferiore monastery. In some cases that would be a big risk, in this case, it works. Neither St. Francis, or his followers are presented as superhuman & perfect. Instead we have a truly human St. Francis that is on the journey to becoming a saint. I don't know if Mother Angelica has ever had a chance to see the movie, but I suspect she would approve of this portrayal as it meets her criteria for portraying saints, flaws & all. We see the 1st Franciscans as striving to follow the path revealed by God through St. Francis, but still making some mistakes along the way.

For its original showing Rossellini had an intro that later was lost. All that exists is the version of that intro he used for the American release. He also made a few other changes that are noted in the materials on the DVD. The American intro is on the DVD but it was not restored. & only the Italiano version is on the DVD.

The movie opens with St. Francis & his followers returning from Rome after getting approval of the rule from the Pope. It is here that we 1st meet the real St. Francis & his followers. It is here that we also get the tone of the entire movie. It is both simple, like St. Francis' message & complex, like that of any real person.

The stories included are (with notes about variations from the book):

1 - How Brother Ginepro (St. Juniper) returned naked to St. Mary of the Angels, where the Brothers had finished building their hut.
2 - How Giovanni, known as “the Simpleton”, asked to follow Francis and began imitating him in word and gesture.
3 - Of the wonderful meeting between Santa Chiara (St. Clare) and St. Francis at St. Mary of the Angels. (Book only has St Clare & 1 sister, this has several siters accompanying her.)
4 - How Brother Ginepro cut off a pig’s foot to give to a sick brother. (slight variations, but catches Ginepro very well)
5 - How Francis, praying one night in the woods, met the leper.
6 - How Brother Ginepro cooked enough food for two weeks, and Francis moved by his zeal gave him permission to preach. (Again, slight variations, location & other small details)
7 - How Brother Ginepro was judged on the gallows, and how his humility vanquished the ferocity of the tyrant Nicalaio. (This also includes another story of Br. Ginepro where he played on a teeter totter to gain the people's attention that was unrelated to his meeting with Nicalaio.)
8 - How Brother Francis and Brother Leon (Leo) experienced those things that are perfect happiness. (In the original St. Francis merely describes what might happen at the friary. In the movie it takes place at a village & they are treated the way they are by the homeowner.)
9 - How St. Francis left St. Mary of the Angels with his friars and traveled the world preaching peace. (Original story only had St. Francis & Brother Masseo on a journey & takes them through to the end)

As I said earlier, most of the parts were played by actual Franciscans. That alone gives a sense of reality to the stories that actors probably couldn't convey as well.

Something else that helps the sense of reality is the locations used. The town used for some parts of the film was about like it was back at the time of Francis. The scenes at St. Mary of the Angels were at a rural site that also felt like you were there as it happenned.

Granted, the complex armor worn by Nicalaio wasn't accurate, but the difference between it & the very simple habit of Ginepro did convey the difference between the simple faith of Ginepro & the view Nicalaio had of himself. I am aware that some people think that how Aldo Fabrizi played him was over the top, but for me it worked. It conveyed to me a view of the world trying to come to grips with something so foreign to itself, in this case, an authentic follower of Christ, that it didn't even know how to react. Fabrizi gave me the impression of someone who was trying to find out if Ginepro was for real or what? It is very much like what we see so often today when the worldly culture is faced with the Gospel.

The monk playing St. Ginepro caught him perfectly. here we have a monk who's faith is so simple that he doesn't question he just does what he sees as the best way to follow Jesus. There is 1 scene where Ginepro comes back in his breaches. This was after St. Clare had arrived for the meal. In a previous scene St. Francis had told Ginepro he was forbidden to give away his habit any more. When asked where the new habit was, he said that he met a man who was naked. He told the man he couldn't give him the habit, but if the man took it off him, he wouldn't stop him. It is this playing him with the simplicity of the real Ginepro that is especially effective in the scenes with Nicalaio. In fact, as those who aren't familiar with Ginepro will discover, he is the Jester of the title, not Francis. St. Francis often extolled Ginepro as an ideal friar.

The actor playing St. Francis also does an excellent job. The 1 scene where the birds are singing & Francis speaks to them catches the real St. Francis & his love for nature as a reflection of the glory of God. Nowhere in the movie do we see the revisionist version of St. Francis as a peace-nick, environment worshipping hippie. We see a blood & flesh Francis who is a sinner & knows it. We asee a Francis who acknowledges & weeps for his sin. We see the real man who was concerned for others souls & their salvation.

I highly recommend this movie. When it only covers a very small part of the Fioretti, it does capture the heart of the book. It gives us an all too short insight into the early days of the Franciscan order. (Which is why I also recommend reading the book.) It is the type & style of movie that Hollywood should make today but very rarely does. It is reverent without being pietistic in the negative sense of the word.

1 final thing. the movie is, naturally, in Italiano with subtitles. & even though my Italiano isn't the best, I can say that the subtitles did a good job of accurately translating the Italiano.

(In 1995 the Vatican listed the film as one of the 45 greatest films ever made.)