Film Review
There is a blistering irony in the fact that whilst director Roberto
Rossellini was being vilified in the world press for his extra-marital
affair with Ingrid Bergman he was busy working on a film of intense
spiritual purity.
Saint
Francis, God's Jester (a.k.a.
Francesco,
giullare di Dio or
The Flowers of St Francis) marks something of a transition in Rossellini's
career, between the bleak neo-realist dramas of the 1940s and the more
abstract existential perambulations that came afterwards. Whether
it was the world's reaction to his affair with Bergman or, more
probably, his own reaction to what had happened to Italy over the past
decade, Rossellini found himself in something of a spiritual crisis by
1950, and this is boldly reflected in his cinema of this period.
Saint Francis, God's Jester is
one of Rossellini's most beguiling and humane films. With its
minimalist composition and sparse narrative, it makes an unaffected
study in faith and mankind's potential for goodness that is striking in
its simplicity and yet so profoundly meaningful, more inspiring than
any Church sermon. The film does not attempt a detailed
biographical account of the life of St Francis but instead presents ten
vignettes taken from two medieval texts:
The Little Flowers of Saint Francis
and
The Life of Father Ginepro.
Rossellini combines his stark neo-realist aesthetic with a visual
stylisation that is informed by medieval art, the result being a work
of breathtaking artistic and moral purity.
The film owes much of its charm and authenticity to the fact that the
roles of St Francis and his followers were all played by real monks,
from the Nocere Inferiore monastery. Aldo Fabrizi is the only
professional actor, cast as the tyrant Nicolas - a memorably
over-the-top performance that makes a beautiful contrast with Brother
Severino Pisacane's completely self-unaware portrayal of Brother
Juniper. The part of St Francis is played by Brother Nazario
Gerardi, a saintly man who exudes enough compassion, warmth and
humility to make you weep.
Despite its austere presentation and languorous pace,
Saint Francis, God's Jester is
extraordinarily easy to engage with. It is not a dry, preachy
film, but one that is invested with humanity and humour. In his
last credited screenwriting collaboration with Rossellini, Federico
Fellini infects the film with his penchant for eccentric
characterisation, most notably in the odd-ball characters John and
Juniper, two mentally deficient souls who really do test the patience
of a saint. Brother Juniper is pretty well the focus of the film,
his well-meaning antics often taking a turn for the surreal. When
a fellow monk articulates a craving for a pig's trotter, Juniper
naturally hurries off to divest a live pig of its foot (something the
pig is far from enthusiastic about). Later, when he saunters
blithely into a camp of belligerent heathens to do the odd bit of
soul-saving, he ends up being thrown about as a substitute for a beach
ball. Nothing flusters Juniper or encroaches on his sense of
freedom and gaiety. He is in a state of perpetual rapture, happy
and fearless, totally oblivious to whatever evil he may
encounter or whatever social faux pas he may commit.
Brother Juniper's apparent simplicity reflects the naivety of the film
as a whole and encapsulates the film's central message, which is that a
human being can only be free and whole if he yields completely to
his own instinct for goodness. At a time when Italy was in
tatters and the world, now equipped with nuclear armaments, faced a
very uncertain future, the film feels bizarrely optimistic. Yet
it has an even greater resonance today, when the threats facing mankind
appear even more insuperable and devastating. All of the
challenges that confront humanity today have their basis in
materialistic greed. If mankind could only learn from the example
of St Francis and realise that fulfilment is achieved by giving, not
taking, by suppressing the ego rather than by indulging it, then
there might still be hope for us. If not, we are surely doomed.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Roberto Rossellini film:
Stromboli (1950)
Film Synopsis
Early in the 13th Century, a group of monks led by Saint Francis roam
the Italian countryside, preaching their simple message to those who
will hear and lending acts of kindness whenever they encounter those in
need. When, during a rainstorm, they find that the hut they have
constructed for themselves has been taken by a peasant, they are not
upset. They merely thank God that they have been of service to
another fellow human creature and build another. The monks' life
is one of self-denial and joyful devotion to their faith. Theirs
is a simple, happy existence, although the dim Brother Juniper does
occasionally make things difficult...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.