Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Film Poster
Directed byFranco Zeffirelli
Written bySuso Cecchi d'Amico
Kenneth Ross
StarringGraham Faulkner
Judi Bowker
Music byDonovan
Distributed byParamount Pictures (USA), Cinema International Corporation (non-U.S.A.)
Release date
1972
Running time
135 /122 min.
CountryItaly / U.K.
LanguageEnglish

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Italian: Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna) is a 1972 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker. The film is a biopic of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Plot

Francesco, the spoiled son of Pietro Bernardone, a wealthy textile merchant, returned home from fighting in the war between Assisi and Perugia, Struck by a feverish illness that forced him to desert the war, he lies on his bed tormented by visions of his past when he was a boisterous, arrogant youth. During a long recovery process, he slowly finds God in the midst of all, in poverty, chastity and obedience, experiencing a recovery not only of his body but of his soul.

Healthy again, Francesco returns to his normal life as a rich young man. However to the consterantions of his parents, he begins to spend lots of time surrounded by nature, flowers, trees, animals and poetry as he becomes more and more reluctant to his prior life style. His father's obsession with gold now fills him with revulsion and casting a side Pietros’ offers to take over the family business, Francesco throwis the old man's textiles out the window. His father, who, frustrated beats him and ends up humilliating him in front of the city's Bishop and population renounces all his worldly possessions and his "noble" family name Bernardone and leaves Assissi naked and free from his past in order to live an ascetic and simple life as a man of God and nature. He goes toward the ruins of the chapel of San Damiano, where he hears God's voice asking him to restore it. Much to the dismay of his family, friends and the local bishop, Francesco gradually gains a large following amongst the poor and the suffering, among them his friends Bernardo, who happily joins him after returning from a Crussade that left him in sorrow and emptiness, both Silvestro and Giocondo, who become admiring Francesco's new life style as a beggar who rebuilds a chapel with his own hands and a radiant smile on his face and a beautiful young woman named Claire, also from a wealthy family who much before Francesco's conversion, serves and cares for lepers of the community. Francesco and Claire, although united at first by a more or less romantic interest, become much more than that, relucting any possible love as a couple and forming a fraternal love that gives example to more and more people, both rich and poor. and in return, after his community forms, she comes to join the brothers in their life of poverty. Meanwhile in Assissi, the high classes of nobility, including the Bishop, protest against Francesco and his group, worried about them "corrupting" the whole of Assissi's youth and the command Francesco's friend Paolo to hinder and stop the so called "minor brothers".

Because of conflicts between the high corrupted levels of the Church and Francesco's group, he decides to walk to the Vatican in Rome and ask Pope Innocent III to advice. Paolo meet them while they're on their way and prevents them from going to Rome, although the group refuses and marches on, Paolo travels along with them in search of bringing them back to Assissi. Once in Rome, Francesco becomes stunned by the enormous wealth, power, lust and emptiness that surrounds the throne of St. Peter and when he's brought to face the Pope he vehemently protests against it and recites the scriptures (which was not allowed) on order to prove that Christ's words are totally opposite of Rome's wealth. Due to this emotional explossion, Francesco and his friends are jailed, and finally accepting his admiration toward Francesco, Paolo decides to join them. The Pope Innocent suddenly seems to wake up and desperately asks to bring Francesco back, when he reveals a dream he once had about the Church falling down and a little man dressed in humble clothing manages to save the Church from falling down. He also reveals to Francesco how ashamed he is to be dressed in fine and luxurious clothes in front of a humble and kind man dressed as a beggar, to everyone's astonishment, the Pope inclines and kisses Francesco's feet, and then blesses him and his companions, wishing for them a long world wide society of men and women willing to serve God in the way he does. As the whole of the Vatican raise candles as a sign of admiration toward Francesco's new Order and their victory, the small group of men marches happily to the outer world. The film finishes with the sight of Francesco walking to the distance while singing happily the tune "Brother Sun, Sister Moon".

Cast

The film features a cast of newcomers and screen veterans:

Reception

Featuring Zeffirelli's signature lush photography, Brother Sun, Sister Moon was conceived and executed in much the same visual manner as his Academy Award-winning adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (1968). The film attempts to draw parallels between the work and philosophy of Saint Francis and the ideology that underpinned the worldwide hippie movement of the 1960s and early '70s. The film is also known for the score composed by Riz Ortolani.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Lorenzo Mongiardino, Gianni Quaranta, Carmelo Patrono).[1]

Soundtrack

The romantic soundtrack was by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, which reflected the 'flower power' mood of Zeffirelli's film and the cinematography in particular. Donovan also sang all the songs on the soundtrack itself. The composer Leonard Bernstein had originally been approached to provide a score but the plans fell through. However Bernstein used some of the planned material in his Mass.

In 2004, Donovan re-recorded the songs from the long out-of-print soundtrack. Brother Sun, Sister Moon was released exclusively on iTunes Store.

See also

References

  1. ^ "NY Times: Brother Sun, Sister Moon". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
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