‘The Flowers of St. Francis’: God’s Fool of Assisi

Director Robert Rossellini tells why so many love the poor man of Assisi.

Saint Francis of Assisi (Brother Nazario Gerardi), in “The Flowers of St. Francis.” Joseph Burstyn Inc.

NR | 1h 25min | Drama | 1952

Screenwriter-director Roberto Rossellini begins his film with a Biblical quote from St. Paul: “God chose the foolish things of this world to humiliate the learned, and the weak, to humiliate the strong.” Rossellini tells the story of St. Francis and the early Franciscans; their humility and selflessness turned the prevailing so-called wisdom of hedonism and conceit on its head.