Saint Cinema: The Construction of St. Francis of Assisi in Franco Zeffirelli's Brother Sun Sister Moon (1972)
Franco Zeffirelli's Brother Sun Sister Moon (1972) is one of the most popular and accessible biopics of St. Francis of Assisi available, and an important exemplar of the ever-burgeoning religion-and-film genre. Despite its thirty-year vintage, it is generating renewed academic interest as a leg...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Saskatchewan
[2002]
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| In: |
Journal of religion and popular culture
Year: 2002, Volume: 2, Issue: 1 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Franco Zeffirelli's Brother Sun Sister Moon (1972) is one of the most popular and accessible biopics of St. Francis of Assisi available, and an important exemplar of the ever-burgeoning religion-and-film genre. Despite its thirty-year vintage, it is generating renewed academic interest as a legitimate form of religious expression and contemporary visual piety. This celluloid hagiography was Zeffirelli's first movie following his disfiguring car accident and quasi-mystical recommitment to Catholicism. The critical literature was reviewed and the film explicated through the lens of humanist film criticism. Zeffirelli had constructed the medieval St. Francis as a 1960s hippie and Christ-figure with a strong autobiographical flavour. Yet, this stylistic did not greatly diminish the historical St. Francis' passionate commitment to nature, anti-materialism and christic holiness. It was concluded that Zeffirelli had successfully repeated St. Francis' 13th century revolutionary message for the 20th century using the popular medium of our day. Further research into film-faith dialogue was recommended. |
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| ISSN: | 1703-289X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and popular culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3138/jrpc.2.1.003 |