Famous for having propelled Italian neorealism into the international spotlight, director Roberto Rossellini moved into the postwar period with an increasing desire to depict Europe’s spirit and heritage, digging to the roots of its cultural values. One of his first historical projects was this lovely, human, and touching 1950 film, known in the UK as Francis, God’s Jester and in the US as The Flowers of St. Francis.
“As the title indicates,” Rossellini wrote, “my film wants to focus on the merrier aspects of the Franciscan experience, on the playfulness, the ‘perfect delight,’ the freedom that the spirit finds in poverty, and in an absolute detachment from material things.” The film’s relevance to its materialist time was further clarified when Rossellini made Europa ’51 the following year and cast Ingrid Bergman as a modern day Francesco figure.
Simplicity itself is the film’s aesthetic model. Drawing elements from neorealism, Rossellini cast nonprofessional actors (real Franciscan monks from a local monastery) and shot the film in the open countryside. The plot comprises various incidents and anecdotes attributed to the life of Francesco, and charmingly portrays his followers as a community of holy fools - good-hearted and genuine, but also naïve and eccentric. Brother Ginepro, in particular, offers much of the film’s humor: “borrowing” the foot of a live pig for a meal, cooking two weeks worth of food all at once in order to preach more, and constantly giving his cloak to whomever asks and embarrassing others by his nakedness.
As breezy and light as the film is, it never loses sight of its underlying gravity. The Middle Ages were a violent time of powerful aggression and economic suffering, and Rossellini’s joyful monastics never lose sight of their place to address it.
Aka Francis, God's Jester. Presented as a tableau of episodes from the life of 'the people's saint', this offers a compelling vision of life that rejects materialism and violence. Shot in a neorealist manner with non-professional actors it avoids the pious clichés of haloed movie saints with an economy of expression and a touching, human quality. Fresh and simple, it was unappreciated at the time of its release, but is now regarded as one of Rossellini's best films.
Last Year In Marienbad 
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Francesco Giullare di Dio (Masters Of Cinema) 
