Francesco, giullare di Dio (1950)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Roberto Rossellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (screenplay)
Father Antonio Lisandrini (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

6 October 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The film dramatizes about a dozen vignettes from the life of St. Francis and his early followers - starting...

Plot Keywords:

Rain | Fire | Christian | Religion | Pig

Cast

Gianfranco Bellini	...	Narrator (voice)
Aldo Fabrizi	...	Nicolaio, il tiranno di Viterbo
Peparuolo	...	Giovanni il Sempliciotto
Fra' Severino Pisacane	...	Fra' Ginapro
Roberto Sorrentino
Brother Nazario Gerardi	...	San Francesco (uncredited)
Arabella Lemaitre	...	Santa Chiara (uncredited)

Directed by
Roberto Rossellini

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Federico Fellini		screenplay
Father Antonio Lisandrini		screenplay
Father Félix Morlión		screenplay
Brunello Rondi		uncredited
Roberto Rossellini		screenplay & story

Produced by
Giuseppe Amato	....	associate producer
Angelo Rizzoli	....	producer

Original Music by
Renzo Rossellini

Cinematography by
Otello Martelli

Film Editing by
Jolanda Benvenuti

Production Design by
Virgilio Marchi

Set Decoration by
Giuseppe Rissone

Costume Design by
Marina Arcangeli

Production Management
Mario Gabrielli	....	unit manager
Luigi Giacosi	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marcella Laurino	....	assistant director
Brunello Rondi	....	assistant director (as Brunello Gay)

Sound Department
Raffaele Del Monte	....	sound recordist
Eraldo Giordani	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Enrico Betti Berutto	....	second assistant camera (as Enrico Betti)
Osvaldo Civirani	....	still photographer
Roberto Gerardi	....	assistant camera (as Roberto Girardi)
Luciano Trasatti	....	camera operator

Other crew
Gianfranco Parolini	....	script supervisor
Emimmo Salvi	....	production secretary
Herman G. Weinberg	....	subtitler: USA
Pino Locchi	....	voice dubbing: Nazario Gerardi (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cineriz
• Rizzoli Film

Distributors

• Cineriz (1950) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cineteca Griffith (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cineteca Nazionale C.S.C (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Filmsonor (1951) (France) (theatrical)
• Franciscan University Film Society (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Indipendenti Regionali (2000) (Italy) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• DomoVideo (????) (Italy) (video)
• Joseph Burstyn (1952) (USA) (subtitled)
• Les Films de ma Vie (????) (France) (DVD)
• Medusa Home Entertainment (2004) (Italy) (DVD)
• Mondadori Video (????) (Italy) (video)
• Opening Distribution (2005) (France) (DVD)
• Suevia Films (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Ditta Maggi  wigs
• Ditta Peruzzi  costumes

Also Known As:

Francis, God's Jester
Saint Francis, God's Jester (UK)
The Flowers of St. Francis (USA)

Runtime:

75 min | Canada:83 min | West Germany:85 min (TV)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric)

Certification:

UK:PG (video rating) (2005) | UK:U (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Manziana, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cineriz

Trivia:

The screenplay takes its inspiration from the 14th Century legends "Fioretti di San Francesco" and "La Vita di Frate Ginepro".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Notes on My Father: An Interview with Isabella Rossellini (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Te deum laudamus

The most unrigid religious movie ever

Most religious films are somber affairs, made by religious men. So Francesco, giullare di Dio is an odd religious movie. It lacks any readings from scripture, or even any quotation. It's made by Rossellini, and the title means "Francis, Jester Of God." It's a long long way from here to Diary Of A Country Priest.

We've had St. Francis movies, of course. Most (in)famous is Zeffirelli's Brother Sun, Sister Moon: St. Francis as hippie. But this was the best. It was shot more or less on location, in the Italian countryside. It stars non-professionals (of course; Rossellini was a neo-realist). Fortunately, it stars a bunch of monks as...a bunch of monks following St. Francis.

In a brisk 75 minutes, Rossellini sketches a bunch of events: St. Francis meeting a leper, a cook learning why actions win souls, not words, etc. There's little music, and, oddly, not really much time spent with St. Francis himself. He's a side character; the thing of real interest is the daily lives and lessons of the monks.

At the end, Francis sends the monks off on their own to preach. They spin in circles, fall down, and wherever their head points, that's where they go. Religion is a journey, not an urgent reason to convert others. This supremely generous and uninsistent film is surely one of the best religious films ever made, full of nature and joy.