I’m neither a Catholic nor a saint by anyone’s standards and yet I feel some sort of affinity towards Francesca Cabrini, also known as Mother Cabrini who was the first American to be declared a saint by the Catholic Church.
The mothersthe youngest of 13 siblings and American Italians Cabrini established the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart which served her fellow people of Italian origins who migrated to America. Born to Italian farmers was the daughter of this Italian farmer couple Agostino Cabrini and hers was Stella Oldini, both parents with a familial profession of farming. However, only four of them survived beyond childhood. She arrived two months early and was regarded as the premature and weak child of her family. Even when she was a child, and later, her health was frail.
As someone with spina bifida in which I’m a double amputee as paraplegic, I have made it a life goal to look up to such role models who faced adversities in life and nonetheless were able to shake the world with accomplishments. It is now quite clear that Cabrini was that woman.
On this year’s International Women’s Day, which also happens to fall on March 8 2024, Cristiana Dell’ Anna, the protagonist of the Cabrini movie, helps to tell the story of one of late nineteenth century America’s most remarkable women, Mother Cabrini, who persevered through hostile American societies’ struggles against women and Italians.
Just as he has done before with last year’s box office hit ‘Sound of Freedom’, Monteverde has again developed a film that is both aesthetically pleasing and sounds real for people. Cabrini’s mission to the New World was not her initial choice but instead was instructed by Pope Leo XIII. Cabrini was on her way to missionary work in the East but Pope Leo XIII has other plans for her. This narrative describes her first experiences in America in 1889, where she saw the unsanitary conditions, high levels of crime, and a multitude of homeless, orphaned, and underprivileged children scattered around the New York slums. Despite her poor health and weak command of English, Cabrini’s courage and will led her to get in touch with the uncooperative mayor, John Lithgow, and in her zeal to create a safe dwelling and healthcare for the abused homeless women and children.
As she always has it in her films that more or less blends it all in her films, it is testimony that she is truly an artist, a combination of faith, man, and dedication to her craft. As Cabrini, Cristiana Dell’Anna renders a compelling, rather reserved interpretation of the first woman to have been assigned by the Pope for an overseas mission.
Dell’Anna presents Cabrini’s meek fragility never discussed but depicted with care and her love for the most disadvantaged women, children and those targeted for violence. Whereas Cabrini left drama behind, the depth of his emotions rings authentic and deserved. Despite facing anti Italian and anti feminist prejudice, Cabrini made a mark in the society and the Church in a positive way.
Although it is Dell’Anna who plays the soul of Cabrini, other prominent actors do a great job especially the one and only John Lithgow, who makes any movie he stars in a masterpiece, David Morse who plays Archbishop Corrigan, and Giancarlo Giannini as the incomparable Pope Leo XIII in art.
Camerawork by Gorka Gomez Andreu has a pleasant eye but does not lose sight of the uncompromising and at times violent authenticity of the jointly written story by Monteverde and Rod Barr. By using Gene Back he has incorporated original music that is everlastingly gushing yet human at the same time. We extend our praise to Carlos Lagunas for production design, Alisha Silverstein for costume design, and authorities for the editing of Brian Scofield.
No one has a clear idea what to anticipate from Angel Studios, but one thing is clear, if it’s bible interpretation or the idea of what it means to have faith, no other entity makes movies that are beautiful, thoughtful and mastered to perfection.
Cabrini is yet another fine example. It is the film of the lady who was recognized as the patroness of the immigrants by the Vatican in 1950 and whose work is still evident in various parts of the globe.
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