Francesco d'Assisi

Liliana Cavani’s 1966 film for Italian television is surprising in the way it differs from more common biopics of Catholic saints. It opens with a highly evocative portrayal of life in the shop of Francis’ father, the rich textile merchant Pietro di Bernardone, showing the son performing activities typical of the era’s privileged youth. Around the age of 20 (he was born in 1181 or 1182), Francis had yet to show any signs of wanting to devote his life to religion; instead, he was preparing for a career as a knight. The young director, who received help on the script from Tullio Pinelli, gave the role of Francis to Lou Castel, who a year earlier had played a rebel in Bellocchio’s Fists in the Pocket. Cavani sees Francis’ spiritual conversion and radical aid for the poor and outcast primarily as a form of rebellion against the state of society. From here sprang Francis’ interpretation of the Bible and his founding of a monastic order dedicated to living in absolute poverty. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)