147 - The Flowers of Saint Francis, 1950, Italy. Dir. Roberto Rossellini.

Saturday, May 27, 2017

147 - The Flowers of Saint Francis, 1950, Italy.  Dir. Roberto Rossellini.

Praise be to you, O Lord, and to all your creatures.
Especially Brother Sun, through whom you light our days.
He is beautiful and radiant and resplendent,
and derives all meaning from you.

Praise be to you, O Lord, for Sister Moon and all the stars,
which you cause to shine clear and bright.
Praise be to you, O Lord, for Brother Wind,
and for cloud and clear skies and all kinds of weather,
which bring sustenance to all your creatures.

Praise be to you, O Lord, for Sister Water,
so useful and humble, precious and chaste.
Praise be to you, O Lord, for Brother Fire,
with whom you light up the night
and who is beautiful and playful, robust and strong.

Praise be to you, O Lord, for Sister and Mother Earth,
who sustains, governs, and brings forth the various fruits
with their colorful flowers and leaves.
Praise be to you, O Lord, for those who forgive out of love for you,
and who withstand infirmity and tribulation.

Blessed are those who live in peace,
for they will be crowned by you, the Most High.
Praise be to you, O Lord, for our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no mortal man can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those who abide by your holy will,
for death shall not harm them.

Praise and bless my Lord.
Give thanks and serve him humbly.

So says St. Francis.

The late 1940s was a tumultuous time.

The War was over and Italy needed to be forgiven and loved again.

Robert Rosselini had been having an affair with Ingrid Bergman and it had caused an international stir.

News outlets around the world fed the fires of gossip.

The United States Senate weighed in.

Since it is the business of the United States Senate to comment on the private affairs of private citizens.

In other countries.

On the other side of the world.

Rossellini's 9-year old son Marco had died of appendicitis just a few years before.  Rossellini was still grieving.

And he was going through a divorce with his wife Marcella De Marchis.

During this time, when Rosselini made movies about contemporary affairs he could not help but express his own troubles and anxieties.

He needed another subject.  Something else to think about.  Another way of making films.

He turned to faith.

1950 was a holy year.  A year of Jubilee.

It was time to make a religious film anyway. 

And St. Francis was the most beloved of Italian saints.

Rossellini could create a circle of peace around himself.  And get away from the tumult.  And focus on another way of life.  From another time.

In 1946 Rossellini had made a film called Paisa, and he had worked with real Franciscan monks.

So when he made The Flowers of Saint Francis, he called upon the monks again.

The monks played monks.

And they played their roles with authenticity.

The light in their eyes showing the life in their souls.

Their playful innocence.  Their lack of fear.

Rossellini had the ability on this film to watch them patiently.  And to allow things to develop organically.

Normally when people make movies, they have to make their days.  This means they must shoot so many pages per day, as measured in eighths of a page.  If they have budgeted to shoot 5 and 3/8 pages, then they need to finish 5 and 3/8 pages before the day is over.  And each scene has so many set-ups.  Set-ups of lights and the camera and other equipment.  So in order to shoot 5 and 3/8 pages, the director may be required to complete, say, 24 set-ups.

If they get behind, they must catch up.

A lot is riding on this schedule.  This time budget.

Money.  The availability of everything from people to locations to equipment to vehicles to clothing to props.  Sometimes weather.  Sometimes light.

If a film goes over time it goes over budget.  Which could affect its release schedule.  Which could affect its bankability in the marketplace.  Or its timing in awards season.  Sometimes films are not finished and the investors lose their money.

So the director is subject to the Line Producer, who is the on-set money man.  The Line Producer is responsible to the other Producers.  The Producers are responsible to the Studio, and the Studio is beholden to the investors.

But Rossellini did not have to make this film in that way.

Instead, he filmed it like a picnic.

He showed up on set each morning with his monks.

They sat on the ground and ate.  They talked.  They watched to see what would develop.  They filmed it.

He did have a script.

He and his young assistant, the future master Federico Fellini, had written it together.

They based it on two books, The Flowers of Saint Francis and The Life of Brother Ginepro.

They wrote it in episodes.

Rather than containing one complete narrative story, the film contains ten episodes taken from Francis's and Ginepro's lives.  Rossellini filmed eleven but cut one just before the film's premiere.

The film lost money.

(See above!)

But over time its stature has risen steadily to where it has become regarded as a world cinema classic

Francis is nicknamed the Jester of God.

And he and his monk companions, somewhat like clowns from future Fellini movies, approach life with an innocent simplicity.

Love's joy.

Francis leads them with a strong and confident hand.  He gives them tasks.  He helps the poor.  He loves the leper.  He preaches peace.

And in the end he sends out his fellow monks in all directions--in a fascinating method of selection--to preach peace to the ends of the earth.

He practices humility.

And the "actor" who plays Saint Francis, the "star" of the movie, the real monk Brother Nazario Gerardi,

is uncredited.