LES FRANÇOIS DE LILIANA CAVANI: DE LA REVOLUTION AU 'RIFLUSSO'
THE REVOLUTION OF ST. FRANCIS IN LILIANA CAVANI`S CINEMA

Summary/Abstract: There is a rapport of continuity and distancing between the two film depiction of the figure of St. Francis of Assisi in Liliana Cavani`s cinema. Her 1989 film, Francesco, takes the story of St. Francis from where her 1966 film ended it, namely the death of St. Francis. Thus, the character of St. Francis relives through the words of his companions. The screen figure of the 13th century Francis allows modern reconstructions of multilayered interpretations. His inner crisis, the search of his place in the world, and his conflict with paternal authority can also be read in a social context. Cavani`s Francis is a postrevolutionary young man who does not break completely the relationship with his natural parents. Modern interpretation can even touch contemporary themes, such as the phenomenon of riflusso which may be paralleled in the film. If for his father, Pietro Bernardone, labor was the preferred way of social elevation, for the son, the future St. Francis, work became an emblem of individual freedom.

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