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Franco Zeffirelli ’s “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” is a big, limp Valentine of a movie, filled with an excess of sweetness and light. What a shame. His subject is Francis of Assisi, one of the most interesting and natural of saints, but Zeffirelli has portrayed him as sort of the first flower child.

Well, maybe he was. It may be true that Francis went out into the fields and spoke to the birds. But is it true, as Zeffirelli seems to believe, that the birds had more to say than Francis did? He hardly gives us six lines of intelligent or perceptive dialog in the movie; the rest is empty, pretty phrasing. After a while we long for a cynic to wander into the movie and ask Francis a few pointed questions. The movie shows every sign of having been taken apart and put back together again. The opening - a rambling, confused editing job - looks as if it’s meant to cover up for an original beginning that ran too long. While Francis tosses and turns on his bed, we get flashbacks to a field of battle and memories of how he went off to be a soldier.

The task of a movie’s first 10 minutes, at the very least, is to orient us and give us a general idea of what to expect. “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” opens on confusion and complexity, which is bad enough; what’s worse is that once the opening is out of the way, the movie levels off into one note, indefinitely held.

Francis is portrayed as a wispy-bearded youth with a glow in his eye; if we didn’t know he was a saint we might think he was a little tetched in the head. That’s especially true when he leaves his sickbed and walks out onto a rooftop to catch a bird. It’s not the bird that matters; it’s the way he walks, waving his arms and teetering back and forth, always about to fall off. Surely even a saint can keep his balance.

After a suitable period of standing on the rooftop, Francis goes out into the fields and finds there a ruined church. He takes unto himself a band of followers, not omitting the obligatory local aristocrat who comes to scoff and stays to plaster, and they rebuild the church. The local church establishment, which is gowned and bejeweled as if it had first dibs on Marco Polo’s plunder, is scandalized. Who ever heard of a Christian who embraced poverty and humility?

But Francis perseveres, and eventually the local bad guys set his church on fire. I guess it’s set on fire, anyway; clouds of smoke pour from behind the church, but we see no flames. Did Zeffirelli decide to go with a smudge pot and save the rebuilt church? I dunno, but this is the kind of movie where you think of things like that. Anything to stay awake.

Now comes the big scene, where Francis and his followers go to see Pope Innocent, who is played by Alec Guinness . Zeffirelli has constructed a set for the papal chambers that makes Anthony Quinn ’s digs in “Shoes of the Fisherman” look like the ballroom of the Honolulu Hilton.

Dozens - perhaps hundreds - of altar boys swing incense burners. Squadrons of Swiss Guards swing open massive bronze doors. The College of Cardinals sits almost immobile, their robes so heavy they can hardly move. Scheming papal advisers are arrayed behind the throne. And Guinness is costumed in such a manner as to remind us of the ecclesiastical fashion show in “Fellini’s Roma.” Did Zeffirelli mean his scene to be satire, or merely wretched excess? Also, does the Pope always have 200 divines on hand just to hold an audience for a few barefoot monks?

Well, believe it or not (there are gasps of dismay from the cardinals), the Pope comes out in favor of poverty and self-denial, and gives Francis his blessing. Whereupon Francis presumably goes out and incorporates the Franciscan Order, although that’s not in this, movie; maybe we’ll get a sequel. Zeffirelli himself says you can’t think too much about his movie; you have to accept it as a simple experience. “You have to hang your brains outside by the door before you go into this film,” he said, and it certainly looks as if he started with himself.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film Credits

Brother Sun, Sister Moon movie poster

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973)

135 minutes

Graham Faulkner as Francis

Judi Bowker as Claire

Leigh Lawson as Bernardo

Directed by

  • Franco Zeffirelli

Produced by

  • Luchiano Terugia

Screenplay by

  • Suso Cecchi D'Amico
  • Kenneth Ross
  • Lina Wertmuller

Photographed by

  • Ennio Guarnieri

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Brother Sun, Sister Moon

1973, Biography, 2h 1m

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Brother sun, sister moon   photos.

A medieval Italian wastrel (Graham Faulkner) becomes Francis of Assisi, founder of an order under Pope Innocent III (Alec Guinness).

Genre: Biography

Original Language: English

Director: Franco Zeffirelli

Writer: Suso Cecchi d'Amico , Lina Wertmüller , Kenneth Ross , Franco Zeffirelli

Release Date (Streaming): Oct 12, 2010

Runtime: 2h 1m

Cast & Crew

Graham Faulkner

St. Francis of Assisi

Judi Bowker

Alec Guinness

Pope Innocent III

Leigh Lawson

Kenneth Cranham

Valentina Cortese

Pica Di Bernardone

Michael Feast

Bishop Guido

Franco Zeffirelli

Suso Cecchi d'Amico

Screenwriter

Lina Wertmüller

Kenneth Ross

Ennio Guarnieri

Cinematographer

Reginald Mills

Film Editing

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Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973)

The release of Franco Zeffirelli’s hippified take on the life of Saint Francis, 1973’s Brother Sun, Sister Moon , coincides with the theatrical release of The Passion of the Christ . While the latter is a punishing, self-important litany of torture, the other transcends its Catholic specificity to find spiritual truth through humility.

More specifically, Zeffirelli’s film links Christianity with the counter-cultural ’60s. The movie’s humane take on brotherly love, so generous that it even forgives the Catholic Church, ends with the meeting of Pope Innocent III (Alec Guinness) and Francesco (Graham Faulkner), wherein the Pope blesses Francesco and supplicates himself before him.

The film opens with Francesco returned from fighting in the war between Assisi and Perugia, with the medieval equivalent of shellshock. He lies on his bed attended by nurses and hallucinating vividly, recalling the events of his youth leading up to the horrors of battle. Before going off to fight Perugia Francis was a boisterous, arrogant youth, much enamored of his textile manufacturing father Pietro (Lee Montague) and Mother (Valentina Cortese) and sharing their passion for wealth and prestige. He and his family see the ensuing war mainly as a chance for profit via loot. We see all this through Francesco’s fevered flashbacks, and when he finally wakes, his old life has been washed away. He’s open to the songs of birds and the splendor of flora. His father’s obsession with gold now fills him with revulsion. He even freaks out in church, where the poor are made to stand in the back while he and other wealthy sorts sit in the front.

Eventually, Francesco casts off Pietro’s job offers, throwing the old man’s textiles out the window and heading, naked and longhaired, into the wilderness. Here he will start his own poor-friendly church, replete with a beautiful flower child, Claire (Judi Bowker) and a gathering of bearded followers. The local bishop is upset, especially when all but the richest members of his flock are soon attending Francesco’s church instead of his. And so he sends soldiers to burn his humble rival’s church to the ground, killing one of Francesco’s followers in the process.

The analogies to the Vietnam era and the anti-war movement are all too apparent. Zeffirelli’s previous film, Romeo and Juliet (1968) was canonized as a counter-cultural touchstone three years previously: the tale of two attractive young hedonists being driven to suicide by their war-crazed elders was a perfect metaphor for the times. The story of Saint Francis — paralleling those of Vietnam vets turned war protesters (à la Ron Kovic, whose autobiography was the basis for Oliver Stone’s 1989 film, Born on the Fourth of July ) — must have seemed a perfect follow-up. Francis’ bedridden hallucinations resemble a heavy acid trip, and his rejection of his father’s plastic fantastic Madison Avenue gig for a communal church evokes images of so many young panhandlers in the Haight.

Fusing the classical allure of Romeo and Juliet with the righteous resistance of psychedelia, Brother Sun, Sister Moon might be grouped with U.S. films like Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy (both 1969). At the same time, Brother Sun also calls up Renaissance art, in lovingly photographed images of Assisi and the Vatican.

The film goes so far as to include a selection of syrupy, rather ancient-sounding songs by British folkie Donovan. Using period instruments, Donovan’s performances turn the film at times into one of those early ’70s romantic odysseys, with a pair of barefoot young lovers skipping through the flowers, during Francesco’s “conversion.” Donovan sings, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon / I seldom see you, I can’t hear your tune / Preoccupied with selfish misery / Brother Wind and Sister Air / Open my eyes to visions pure and fair, that I might see the glories around me.” Such lyrics sum up the movie’s spiritual message, more or less an echo of Jesus’ famous edict in the Book of Thomas: “The kingdom of heaven is spread upon the earth, but men do not see it.”

The film literalizes (and celebrates) this manifestation of God’s spirit in “nature,” condemning institutional indirection along the way. When Francesco climbs onto the roof outside his window to follow a bird, then goes skipping through the meadows, alive to all of nature and Donovan, our first instinct may be to laugh. But mock this sweet and noble sentiment at your own peril. That Francesco’s denunciation of worldly possessions and unabashed love of love and faith seem corny should make us as ashamed as Pope Innocent at film’s end, when he bends to kiss Francesco’s dirty bare feet. Such love is what is best in man, or so Zeffirelli reminds us.

With its brilliant cinematography by Ennio Guarnieri and cast of pretty faces, the film is like a painting come to life. Brother Sun comes between two of Zeffirelli’s masterpieces, Romeo and Juliet and the six-hour TV miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth (1977). In all these films, Zeffirelli depicts old stories with a modern sensibility and timeless sense of spirituality. One of the important breakthroughs of the flower power movement was perhaps the infusion of eastern spiritual thought into the west, and in both Brother Sun and his Jesus Zeffirelli finds the universal thread of spiritual thought that connects both east and west: the desire for transcendence through selflessness and love. Those who cry “heresy” or “corny” might think of the old Zen koan where the Master points at the moon, but the students only look at his finger.

Zeffirelli points our eyes directly at the beauty of the moon, while Catholic dogma (not unlike Gibson’s new film) screams for attention, accusing all the world of heresy if it dares to look away, and the jaded hipsters out there that can’t get past that corny Donovan score miss a profound message that just might make them appreciate the sun, moon, birds, and flowers as the wonders they are.

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Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Where to watch

Brother sun, sister moon.

1972 ‘Fratello sole, sorella luna’ Directed by Franco Zeffirelli

A Motion Picture That Celebrates The Timeless Joy of Original Innocence

In his delirium from his return from war, Francesco Bernardone goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. He slowly recovers, but after the illness he is no longer the Francesco that everybody knew. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he meditates on the beauty of God's creatures, soon renouncing his riches and his family with plans to rebuild an abandoned church and his life.

Graham Faulkner Judi Bowker Leigh Lawson Kenneth Cranham Lee Montague Valentina Cortese Alec Guinness Michael Feast Nicholas Willatt John Sharp Adolfo Celi Francesco Guerrieri Carlo Pisacane Peter Firth Guido Lollobrigida Franca Sciutto Franca Mazzoni Carlo Hintermann Massimo Foschi Aristide Caporale Alfredo Bianchini

Director Director

Franco Zeffirelli

Producers Producers

Dyson Lovell Luciano Perugia Marina Cicogna

Writers Writers

Franco Zeffirelli Suso Cecchi d'Amico Kenneth Ross Lina Wertmüller

Editor Editor

Reginald Mills

Cinematography Cinematography

Ennio Guarnieri

Production Design Production Design

Gianni Quaranta Lorenzo Mongiardino

Composer Composer

Costume design costume design.

Danilo Donati

Euro International Films Vic Films Productions Paramount

Releases by Date

03 mar 1972, 03 mar 1973, 12 apr 1973, releases by country.

  • Theatrical T
  • Theatrical U
  • Theatrical PG

121 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Richard Doyle

Review by Richard Doyle ★★★★ 2

In one sense I really think this movie is a little indefensible. It's so earnest and guileless in it's counter-culture portrayal of St. Francis that it should fail completely ... especially with a score by Donovan for heaven's sake. It's a very superficial treatment of quite a serious subject. However, there's something about the stunning painterly cinematography and meditative pace of the film that really works for me, although I'm quietly kicking myself for being taken in the whole time I'm watching it.

Allison M. 🌱

Review by Allison M. 🌱 ★★★½ 3

This movie is good, but starts out completely slow. So slow, in fact, that I think I tried watching this years ago and couldn't get into it and turned it off. However, it's almost a good thing that I've waited so long, because this is possibly the most vegan movie ever made. Sure, there are people in it that are not vegan, but St. Francis of Assisi loved the animals. In an early scene, it shows him risking his life to climb a roof to save a bird.

I do have to say that it got way more interesting toward the end. The film is interspersed with songs that feel somewhat out of place. St. Francis (Graham Faulkner) is supposed…

Stephen M

Review by Stephen M ★★★★½

Such a beautiful film by Franco Zeffirelli and a nice choice for Holy Week in the Christian calendar. It's very much a film of its time in that St Francis is presented as a symbol of the youth/hippie counterculture of the period, rejecting materialism and ambition, communing with nature and living communally. The songs in the film are even by 1960s folk singer Donovan. But somehow it works and is very touching and moving.

Zeffirelli was known for his sumptuous productions of Shakespeare ("Romeo and Juliet", "The Taming of the Shrew" being the most famous) and opera, as well as a well-regarded television miniseries on "Jesus of Nazareth". And his staging is quite impressive here, with beautiful nature scenes, recreations…

Ruth Scouller

Review by Ruth Scouller ★★★★½ 1

By all rights this film should utterly fail. But it transcends as a highly distinct film in the history of cinema that could only have been made in a certain historical counter culture period. Flower power meets St Francis of Assisi, directed with such majesty by Zeffirelli. This film is a gorgeous time capsule, and even improved on rewatch. Crying out for a decent DVD release, hopefully it arrives on Criterion one of these days.

An unabashedly cute and rewarding film which is full of the message of love and contains some achingly beautiful shots. The staircase shot with the descending pope is one of my all-time favourite shots.

Cate

Review by Cate ★★★½

Few things better than seeing the favourite film of someone you love alongside them, half watching it and half hearing them talk about why they love it. ('I think, although it's not my usual style, that this is the best type of art, since it wasn't about looking beautiful, although it does. It was about doing it... the beauty is in the labour').

It's a deeply beautiful film – painterly and meditative – a flowing 70s view on medievalism; the ecstacy of nature versus the gilded and bloody wealth of the merchant classes and the church.

caro

Review by caro ★★★

twink saint francis save me. saint francis of assisi. saint francis as a twink save me. anyway they dont make costumes like this anymore and thats why the world has gone to shit.

Review by Ruth Scouller ★★★★½

One of those rare films which I'll likely still be watching in fifty years.

ceccoh

Review by ceccoh ★★★ 5

Film che ci fece guardare la ranuzzi alle medie. Non che il film sia straordinario, ma sicuramente avrei potuto apprezzarlo di più se quella maledetta non avesse continuato ad interrompere il film per spiegarci ogni minima cosa che accadeva, manco fossimo dei cerebrolesi. *San Francesco cammina per 10 secondi* *Ranuzzi interrompe il film* Ranuzzi: "ora francesco sta camminando per andare a stocazzo" AAAAAAAAAAAA BASTA LO SO CAZZO LO HAN DETTO PRIMA SMETTILA FAMMI GUARDARE STO FILM LO CAPISCI CHE SE FAI COSÌ SMETTO DI AMARE DDIO!?

Dianus Reviewz

Review by Dianus Reviewz ★★★★

Felt so good after watching this movie I had to kill an animal to balance out my emotions

VitaBreva

Review by VitaBreva ★★★½

Faith is like madness. It seizes you when you’re most vulnerable and makes you behave like a lunatic, your priorities completely at odds with your well-being and material success. Faith is like love, making you willing to up-end your life for someone you barely know, for some promised future bliss that might not even be there or that you might not be worthy of if it is. Faith is ultimately a form of knowledge, knowing something is true with as much certainty as you do that one and one are two, even though you can’t prove it by any empirical evidence.

Graham Faulkner portrays Francesco di Bernadone—Saint Francis of Assisi—with the wild-eyed, tender sincerity of a young Vietnam war veteran…

Gabe Rodríguez

Review by Gabe Rodríguez ★½

A bad movie with a good ending.

BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON is a biopic on Francis of Assisi, one of the most famous saints in history, for whom the city of San Francisco is named after. But it's told in a very hippie-dippy style, full of anachronistic songs by Donovan and experimental moments that jump around in the narrative. The pacing is non-existent; we just jump from episode to episode in Francis's life.

The screenplay, co-written by Lina Wertmüller, just fails on every level. It doesn't make Francis an interesting lead as he spends most of the film sermonizing and proselytizing, coming off as someone lost in the clouds rather than someone driven by genuine faith. The film also fails…

Ryan Sutton

Review by Ryan Sutton

"Our treasures are in heaven not here on earth, don't be a slave of these! Throw it all away! Do as I do, it's so simple, be free!"

These types of films are always hard to review without being controversial but honestly this was a very literal depiction of the Bible based on the true story of Saint Francis of Assisi. While it has beautiful, lush cinematography, the pacing suffered quite a bit. I think just as this is Saint Francis' extremely literal take on the Bible, I would advise caution on anyone doing the same with this film.

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Brother Sun, Sister Moon review

When I first started this blog, I didn’t really have much of an idea about what I would post here but I did know that I didn’t want to do something that other bloggers do better. That rules out a blog about movies, since the blogosphere already has that covered.

brother sun sister moon movie review

After that brief, slightly psychedelic, Che interlude let’s continue…

The start is pretty poor, we see someone that we assume to be Francis, stumbling in through a set of village gates and the community rushing to help him. Turns out he’s ill, so his mum and the women of the town put him in bed and it’s then that we see a series of clips telling us what’s happened. I think it’s supposed to make us reflect, but it just doesn’t work – the clips go on for too long and it’s boring.

Francis is poorly in bed

Fortunately, the film perks up as Francis does. He sees a bird on his balcony railing and fumbles out of bed, scampering after it across the rooftop. The locals think he’s a bit loony, but his rich father plays this down. This is pretty much the film’s set-up; Francis’ peaceful, simple life of embracing nature versus the life of people like his father.

Francis after a bird

People I’ve spoken to seem to rave about the soundtrack, but honestly I don’t see the fuss. It’s so-so, not bad but not good. Donovan’s performance in the Magner’s Irish Cider advert is better, but then again I don’t know much about music so I’m probably missing something.

The Wikipedia page for the film notes that “Brother Sun Sister Moon 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” and it’s glaringly obvious. The story seems to have been bent to fit the motive behind the film, for example I remember reading in a book that the local Bishop was really supportive of Francis but the film portrays him as a greedy man who couldn’t care less. While I know this isn’t true, I can just see the hippies of the 1970s flocking into cinemas and buying it all. Seriously, is it any wonder why the Roman Catholic Church doesn’t have the best rep?

vlcsnap-111373

However, I’m not pedantic enough to let a few inaccuracies ruin the film for me and, I’ll admit, the film was good. Two parts are particularly poignant; the cloth scene where Francis ends up painted in the colours of the rainbow (links to hippie movement) and the ending. I’ll not describe either here because I’ll not do them justice and it’ll ruin the story for you!

Francis colourful!

Oh, it’s worth mentioning that along the way Francis picks up a girl called Clare who’s pretty hot in a weird kind way. She was 18 at the time, she’s 54 now… hmm. 

Claire and Francis chatting

What’s my verdict? Because Francis is my saint, I liked it. If he’s not yours then it’s still worth watching but you might want to save off buying it and rent it or wait for it to be shown on TV.

Labels: francis , movie , review

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Brother Sun, Sister Moon

BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON

Fratello sole, sorella luna.

This is a dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare.

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Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973)

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Zeffirelli's Film Study of St. Francis:The Cast

By Vincent Canby

  • April 9, 1973

Zeffirelli's Film Study of St. Francis:The Cast

Franco Zeffirelli's "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" is the sort of movie that tries to make poverty look chic, and almost goes broke in the attempt.It's the splendiferously costumed, fancily photographed (through rain, smoke, mist or muslin, whenever possible), multimillion-dollar, near-musical life of Giovanni Francesco Bernardone (1181-1226), the cloth merchant's son who later became St. Francis of Assisi. The title is taken from Francis's "Canticle of Creatures," and it could be worse, since Francis had a way of referring to everything as his "brothers" or "sisters," including his illnesses. These he called his "sisters" and on their part he once begged the pardon of his "brother ass the body."Like Roberto Rossellini, who sought the essence of St. Francis more in fable than in fact, Zeffirelli makes no special claims to historical accuracy. However, unlike Rossellini, whose "Flowers of St. Francis" is a film of sweet purpose and simplicity, Zeffirelli has made a big, absurd doodad, a movie that confuses simplicity with simple-mindedness and that makes saintliness look like an extreme form of Asian flu.When Francis comes down with it, he gets feverish, hallucinates, goes off into a long coma and then wakes up as a Good Person. We know this because he spends a lot of time weeping for the underprivileged, giving away his daddy's yard goods and hanging out with birds, bees and flowers.The screenplay, written by Zeffirelli with three other people who should be nameless but aren't (see listing), opens with Francis's return from the war with Perugia and his vow to follow the life and teachings of Christ covers the years that finally culminate with the recognition of what was to become the Franciscan order by Pope Innocent III.In a film that isn't exactly devoid of unintentionally funny moments, this last sequence is a standout, when the sack-clothed Francis and his little band of barefoot followers confront Innocent III in a St. Peter's throne room so photographed as to look like a set from a "Ziegfeld Follies." Francis's philosophy consists entirely of assorted cribs from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, which Francis hurls around the throne room as if they were thunderbolts instead of familiar quotations. The Pope is so impressed he falls on his knees in front of Francis, at which point we suddenly recognize Innocent III as old Alec Guinness, wearing his famous Fagan beard but not the controversial nose.Guinness and Valentina Cortese (who plays Francis's mother) are the only familiar actors in the film. Graham Faulkner (Francis), Judi Bowker (Clare) and the men who play Francis's followers are all young English actors making their film debuts. They are noteworthy only in that they share a prettiness that is barely distinguishable from the landscape's.Although Zeffirelli has a fondness for posing Francis in attitudes suggested by Christ on the cross, he downplays the visions to, literally, one blink—of the eyes of a statue. Zeffirelli makes Francis seem such a bland sort of fellow that we spend most of the time looking at the scenery, the auroral photographic effects and the costumes, which were also the chief attractions of the director's hugely popular "Romeo and Juliet."The film is scored to a point that makes your teeth hurt with awful songs ("Birds are singing sweet and low/ From the trees that gently grow . . .") by Donovan, sung by him on the soundtrack in a role I assume to be God's.

The CastBROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON, directed by Franco Zeffirelli; original story and screenplay by Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Kenneth Ross, Lina Wertmuller and Mr. Zeffirelli; songs composed and sung by Donovan; director of photography, Ennio Guarnieri; editor, John Rushton; produced by Luciano Perugia; distributed by Paramount Pictures. Running time: 121 minutes. At the Coronet Theater, Third Avenue at 59th Street. This film has been classified PG.Francesco . . . . . Graham FaulknerClare . . . . . Judi BowkerBernardo . . . . . Leigh LawsonPaolo . . . . . Kenneth CranhamSilvestro . . . . . Michael FeastGiocondo . . . . . Nicholas WillattPica . . . . . Valentina CortesePietro di Bernardone . . . . . Le MontagueBishop Guido . . . . . John SharpPope Innocent III . . . . . Alec Guinness

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Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

Original title: fratello sole, sorella luna.

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Brother Sun, Sister Moon is 19925 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 19716 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than Wolf Guy but less popular than Foxtrot.

In his delirium from his return from war, Francesco Bernardone goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. He slowly recovers, but after the illness he is no longer the Francesco that everybody knew. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he meditates on the beauty of God's creatures, soon renouncing his riches and his family with plans to rebuild an abandoned church and his life.

Streaming Charts The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

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Product Description

A MEDIEVAL ITALIAN WASTREL BECOMES FRANCIS OF ASSISI, FOUNDER OF AN ORDER UNDER POPE INNOCENT III.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.2 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Franco Zeffirelli
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Color, Closed-captioned, Subtitled, Widescreen, Digital Sound, NTSC, Dubbed, Surround Sound, Dolby
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 1 minute
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 2004
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham, Lee Montague
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Paramount
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00015HX9A
  • Writers ‏ : ‎ Franco Zeffirelli, Kenneth Ross, Lina Wertmller, Suso Cecchi d'Amico
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • #14,982 in DVD

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COMMENTS

  1. Brother Sun, Sister Moon movie review (1973)

    Produced by. Franco Zeffirelli's "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" is a big, limp Valentine of a movie, filled with an excess of sweetness and light. What a shame. His subject is Francis of Assisi, one of the most interesting and natural of saints, but Zeffirelli has portrayed him as sort of the first flower child.

  2. Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon is a big, limp Valentine of a movie, filled with an excess of sweetness and light. What a shame. Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 23, 2004. Robert Roten Laramie ...

  3. Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    Zeffirelli has made a big, absurd doodad, a movie that confuses simplicity with simple-mindedness and that makes saintliness look like an extreme form of Asian flu. May 9, 2005 | Full Review ...

  4. Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon is a gorgeous piece of filmmaking with opulent outdoor photography and stunning views of Assisi, the towers of San Gimignamo, and Monreale's great basilica. The folk songs — written and sung by Donovan — give the film its parabolic beauty and emotional impact. The fresh good looks and remarkably sensitive acting by ...

  5. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. With Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham. Dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare.

  6. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

    BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON Aspect ratio: 1.75:1 Sound format: Mono The early life of St. Francis of Assisi (Graham Faulkner), the son of a wealthy merchant who underwent a spiritual conversion following his experiences in the crusades and later renounced his worldly goods before establishing a holy order separate from traditional Church teachings. ...

  7. Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Italian: Fratello sole, sorella luna) ... On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 42% based on 19 reviews from critics, and an average rating of 4.9/10, while holding a rating of 77% from audiences, with an average rating of 4/5.

  8. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973)

    Fusing the classical allure of Romeo and Juliet with the righteous resistance of psychedelia, Brother Sun, Sister Moon might be grouped with U.S. films like Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy (both 1969).

  9. Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    A bad movie with a good ending. BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON is a biopic on Francis of Assisi, one of the most famous saints in history, for whom the city of San Francisco is named after. But it's told in a very hippie-dippy style, full of anachronistic songs by Donovan and experimental moments that jump around in the narrative.

  10. Brother Sun, Sister Moon Movie Reviews

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon Critic Reviews and Ratings Powered by Rotten Tomatoes Rate Movie. Close Audience Score. The percentage of users who made a verified movie ticket purchase and rated this 3.5 stars or higher. Learn more. Review Submitted. GOT IT. Offers. GET $10K DISNEY GIFT CARD + MERCH image link. GET $10K DISNEY GIFT CARD + MERCH ...

  11. Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    1. Fiona Taggart. more_vert. May 14, 2019. Director Franco Zeffirelli's film, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, focuses on the early years of Francis of Assisi, who sought communion with the natural world by renouncing his family's riches to seek his own destiny unencumbered by material possessions.

  12. Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    About this movie. Director Franco Zeffirelli's Brother Sun, Sister Moon focuses on the early years of Francis of Assisi, who sought communion with the natural world by renouncing his family's riches to seek his own destiny unencombered by material possessions.

  13. Catholic Flux: Brother Sun, Sister Moon review

    That rules out a blog about movies, since the blogosphere already has that covered. But, I'd like to post my thoughts on a lesser-known film that I'm not sure many other blogs will pick up on: Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Fratello sole, sorella luna). The film follows the life of Francis of Assisi, an idol of mine and my confirmation Saint. I ...

  14. Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Biography. Description. Review. Sources. This is a dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience, through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare. The film focuses on the early years of Francis of Assisi, who renounced his family's ...

  15. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon Directed by. Franco Zeffirelli. Awards & Festivals Show all (5) Academy Awards. 1974 | Nominee: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. San Sebastián International Film Festival. ... Critics reviews Related films ...

  16. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

    In early-13th-century Assisi in Italian Umbria, the son of a rich merchant, Francesco Bernardone, returns ill from war. In his delirium, he goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. Yet, the shadow of the cross that he sees in fever brings an end to his old life.

  17. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973)

    Visit the movie page for 'Brother Sun, Sister Moon' on Moviefone. Discover the movie's synopsis, cast details and release date. Watch trailers, exclusive interviews, and movie review. Your guide ...

  18. Zeffirelli's Film Study of St. Francis:The Cast

    Franco Zeffirelli's "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" is the sort of movie that tries to make poverty look chic, and almost goes broke in the attempt.It's the splendiferously costumed, fancily ...

  19. Brother Sun, Sister Moon streaming: watch online

    Show all movies in the JustWatch Streaming Charts. Streaming charts last updated: 9:23:56 PM, 03/30/2024. Brother Sun, Sister Moon is 21022 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 19723 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than The Current but less popular than ...

  20. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... Menu. Movies. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. TV Shows. What's on TV & Streaming Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Browse TV Shows by Genre TV News.

  21. Watch Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon. St. Francis of Assisi was an extraordinarily complex and difficult figure whose effect on his contemporary society was electrifying. ... Book reviews & recommendations : IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities: IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need: Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy

  22. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Widescreen)

    There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Christian. 5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie. Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2024. Verified Purchase. Excellent movie. ... I strongly recommend the movie" Brother Sun Sister Moon" by Franco Zeffirelli, it conveys St Francis's powerful energetic change of ...