Francis, the juggler of God
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Francis, the juggler of God |
| Original title | Francesco, giullare di Dio |
| Country of production | Italy |
| original language | Italian |
| Publishing year | 1950 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Roberto Rossellini |
| script |
Roberto Rossellini Federico Fellini Félix Morlión Antonio Lisandrini Brunello Rondi |
| production |
Giuseppe Amato Angelo Rizzoli |
| music | Renzo Rossellini |
| camera | Otello Martelli |
| cut | Jolanda Benvenuti |
| occupation | |
| |
Francis, the Juggler of God is an Italian film from 1950 and is about St. Francis of Assisi .
action
After Pope Innocent III. Having confirmed their way of life, Francis and his companions return from Rome to Rivotorto and now want to proclaim their message of peace, charity and meekness. On the way, in the pouring rain, they advise on how best to proclaim their message. But her hut is occupied by a man with a donkey who strictly refuses to leave the hut. They take their suffering on themselves and decide to follow Francis.
There are nine chapters, each representing an event in the life of Francis:
1st scene
The scene relates how Brother Ginepro returned naked from Santa Maria degli Angeli , where the brothers had finished their hut.
While the brothers are building a new hut, two of them return with prayer bells given by a rich man. The brothers pray in their chapel. Then the naked brother Ginepro appears; he had given his tunic to a poor man. Francis forbids Ginepro to obediently give away his tunic without permission.
2nd scene
The scene relates how Giovanni, known as “The Simple One,” asked to follow Francis and began to imitate him in words and gestures.
Before the brothers set out on their mission, Francis prays for them and their preaching of the gospel in these times. Then Francis prays the prayer Lord, make me an instrument of your peace . After the prayer, an old man appears with an ox to join Francis and gives his ox to the brothers. Then the man's family appears and demands the ox back, leaving the man behind. Francis introduces his companions to their new brother, Giovanni.
3rd scene
The scene tells about the meeting of St. Clare and Francis in Santa Maria degli Angeli.
The hl. Clare comes to dinner with Francis. The brothers pick flowers and trim their beards. Francis and his brothers pray together with Clare in the chapel. Again Ginepro gives away his tunic to a poor man.
After prayer everyone sits down to eat; one of the confreres tells how he chased away the devil. Because of the sanctity of the situation, the sky is kindled with fire.
4th scene
The scene relates how Brother Ginepro cut off a pig's foot and gave it to a sick brother.
Brother Amarsebello fell ill from fasting too much. While the other brothers pray and distribute food to the poor, Ginepro tries to convince Amarsebello that he does not have to fast and suggests some dishes. Amarsebello would like to eat a pig's paw. Ginepro finds a herd of pigs and brings back one of the pigs' paws. The owner of the pigs appears and demands compensation. After his return, Francis asks Ginepro to apologize to the swineherd and to compensate him, but Ginepro is unsuccessful. A little later the swineherd returns and leaves the pig to the brothers, but warns them never to molest his pigs again.
5th scene
The scene tells how Francis, praying in the woods one night, met a leper.
One night, Francis prays in the forest. A bell ringing attracts his attention. The bells come from a lonely wanderer, and Francis realizes that the wanderer suffers from leprosy. Shaken, Francis insists on being able to touch and hug the man. Francis sinks to the ground and prays to God.
6th scene
The scene relates how Brother Ginepro cooked enough food for two weeks and Francis, moved by his eagerness, allowed him to preach.
Because Ginepro always has to cook when his brothers go to preach, he decides to cook for two weeks in advance so that he can finally get a chance to preach. In the fields he finds a pot that is big enough for so much food. Francis eventually allows him to preach, but on the condition that his sermons begin by stating that he speaks a lot and does little.
7th scene
The scene tells how Brother Ginepro was sentenced to the gallows and how his humility overcame the cruelty of the tyrant Nicolas.
Ginepro travels around Italy to find people to preach to. On the way he meets some children playing and learns from them that the tyrant Nicolas is besieging the neighboring town. When he tries to preach to the barbarians there, he is pushed around by them. Then he understands that he must preach not by words but by example. He is brought before Nicolas, who orders Ginepro's execution. When the summoned priest realizes that he has a follower of Francis in front of him, he asks Nicolas to spare Ginepro. At first he refuses because it has been announced that a man disguised as a beggar would come and kill him. When Nicolas questions Ginepro, he humbly leads him to give up the siege.
8th scene
The scene tells how Brother Francis and Brother Leon experienced those things that are perfect happiness.
Francis and Leon talk about what perfect happiness is. Francis believed that even acts of healing the blind or raising the dead do not mean perfect happiness. There they witness how a rider kills a man who wanted to rob him.
They travel on and continue their conversation. They come to a house and ask for alms, but are chased away by the homeowner with beatings. Francis explains to Leon that perfect happiness is to endure suffering.
9th scene
The scene tells how St. Francis and his confreres left Santa Maria degli Angeli and traveled around the world preaching peace.
The brothers leave Santa Maria degli Angeli to preach the Gospel around the world. They leave their farm to the villagers; it is difficult for them to say goodbye. They distribute food to the poor; then they pray together one last time. After Francis helps them figure out which direction to go, they set out singing.
synchronization
The German version of the film has the following voice actors :
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Francis of Assisi | Nazario Gerardi | Christian Brückner |
| Tyrant Nicolas | Aldo Fabrizi | Alexander Welbat |
Awards
- In 1950 the film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival .
- In 1951 the film was nominated for the Best Film category at the Cahiers du cinéma ; Director Roberto Rossellini came in tenth place.
Reviews
The ratings diverged very strongly in some cases, but filmmakers like Pier Paolo Pasolini and François Truffaut in particular praised Rossellini's work for its simple poetry beyond measure. Below are several German-language professional reviews:
Bucher's encyclopedia of the film sums it up: “Rossellini is less concerned with an argument about the viability of beliefs than with making visible the differences that separate people from their ideal. The seriousness of this intention does not hide the relaxed cheerfulness that the film conveys thanks to the emphasis on the lyrical element and a fine sense for the touchingly comical. "
“Endeavoring to describe the environment in an authentic manner, he ties the life story of the saint to a concrete social environment; at the same time he narrows the perspective to a representative individual figure who functions as a carrier of timeless spiritual principles. "
“With this beautiful film, the master director of Italian neorealism came to new forms of expression and placed the subject of faith at the center of his reflection. Far from traditional hagiography, eleven episodes from the life of Francis of Assisi are told. Francis and the monks are represented in their earthly communal life, in which love, humility and joy of life predominate and holiness takes on a human face. "
literature
- Tag Gallagher: The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini. Pp. 340 ff. New York: Da Capo Press. 1998. ISBN 0-306-80873-0 .
Web links
- Francis, the juggler of God in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Franziskus, the juggler of God in the German synchronkartei.de, accessed on April 23, 2020.
- ^ Tag Gallagher: The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini. P. 355
- ↑ Bucher's Encyclopedia of Films, Verlag CJ Bucher, Lucerne and Frankfurt / M. 1977, p. 268.
- ↑ Francis, the juggler of God. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Criticism on interfilm-akademie.de