*BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON -- SCREENPLAY*

by Susio Cecchi D'Amico, Kenneth Ross, Lina Wertmuller, Franco Zeffirelli

Transcribed from the movie by Tara Carreon, American-Buddha.com

/(starring Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Alec Guinness, Leigh Lawson
directed by Franco Zeffirelli)/

[*Donovan* singing] Oh the drums are so mournful
my dear oh my love
as my thoughts they are turning your way
where are the eyes I beheld with my own
on that long-ago lazy day
dead are the deeds on the stark battlefield
the stench of the flesh sickens me
I slept soaking wet and the worms ate my bread
And the mourning of men filled the air

Oh green are the leaves on the old apple tree
Those sweet perfumed blossoms of spring
Entwined in your hair a smile in your eyes
The soft blade of grass for a ring

[Mother] Francois!

[Father] Francesco!

[Mother] Francois? Francois. Francois.

[Father] He's ill!

[Mother] What's happened to you? Speak to me.

[Father] He's come back from the war because he's ill. He's not a
coward! He ...

[Mother] My dear son.

[Father] Come on! Come, come.

[*Donovan* singing] Warm are the loaves that cool on the sill
To the song of the clear trickling stream
The good clean smell of the rough woven sheets
The song of the children at play
Oh the drums are so mournful
my dear oh my love
as my thoughts they are turning your way
where are the eyes I beheld with my own
on that long-ago lazy day
on that long-ago lazy day

[Giocondo] Francesco, please!

[Bernardo] Come on! We've been riding all night, too.

[Giocondo] All night?

[Bernardo] Yeah, on a girl, not on a horse.

[Giocondo] And tomorrow, we'll be riding to battle. We must be mad.

[Bernardo] Is it true if we win the battle, then we get all the girls we
want?

[Giocondo] Of course! That's what wars are made for. Kill the enemy and
get the ladies!

[Bernardo] It's getting late. Let's go home and prepare. Wars are
serious business.

[Paolo] Such profundity, Bernardo.

[Francesco] Why? Why? Bernardo. What a pity. It's over.

[Bernardo] Yes. It's a pity, but I hope we'll live to see another dawn
like this.

[Francesco] The last night of our youth. Do you realize that? We tried
so desperately to make it never end. We should've stopped the sun from
rising.

[Giocondo] Come on, Francesco!

[Francesco] Wait!

[Clare] Leave me alone. Please. Brothers! Brothers!

[Francesco] Lepers!

[Clare] Yes. Lepers.

[Francesco] No. I don't want to feed them! I don't want to feed them!
Get them off!

[Mother] No, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no!

[Father] Oh, you're not dressed yet? What have you been doing up until
now, eh?

[Mother] [Talks in French]

[Father] Pica. Pica! Will you please stop all this sissified nonsense?
The boy's going off to war. Besides, I don't understand a damned word.

[Francesco] [Laughs]

[Father] Why do you two always want to leave me out of everything? Don't
speak French when I'm around. How many times do I have to ...

[Francesco] If you wanted a wife who speaks like you, why didn't you
marry some thick-headed butcher's daughter?

[Mother] Bravo, Francois, Bravo!

[Francesco] Forgive me, Father. Forgive me, Father.

[Francesco] Hey, wait, we must talk. What shall we do with all the money
we'll make out of this war? Have you thought of that?

[Father] Ah ... I see. A true son of his father, eh, Pica?

[Mother] We are going to be late for mass, Monsignor.

[Father] Ah, they'll wait. Listen, Francesco ... out of the way, out of
the way. Francesco, w-when you're in Perugia, don't forget Ugoni's
storerooms behind the marketplace, near the main tower. He's as rich as
the pope. There's everything there.

[Francesco] Yes, yes, leave it to me.

[Father] Ooh, and Francesco.

[Francesco] What else?

[Father] Remember the triptych I told you about for the cathedral? It'll
save us a fortune in indulgences.

[Francesco] Yes.

[Mother] [Speaks in French]

[Francesco] Yes, war is beautiful.

[Mother] [Speaks in French]

[Francesco] This is my death mask.

[Bishop] Go forth, sons of Assisi. God is with you!

[Choir] [GLORIA in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus, etc.]

[Bernardo] Francesco! Francesco! Francesco!

[Mother] [singing] Flowers in the meadow softly sway
And all the little birds sing merry May Day
Rabbits in the orchard sport and play
And all the little creatures smile and are gay
My little boy, sing out your joy
I am near, my dear
My darling, do not fear
Love is all around you
Comforting with gentle lullaby to make your heart sing.

[Cathedral bells]

[Neighbor] What's he doing up there?

[Neighbor] Oh, that's Bernardone's son.

[Mother] Oh! Francois! Get down.

[Father] Francesco! Francesco!

[*Donovan* singing] Birds are singing sweet and low
From the trees that gently grow
Soft and soothing breezes blow
*On this lovely day*
To the meadow there go I
To wander as the butterfly
How the flowers please my eye
*On this lovely day*
I wish it could be always
Life is easy on such a day
I wish this peace on everyone
*On this lovely day*
La la la dee la la la
La la la la dee da da
La da da la dee la la
*On this lovely day*
I wish this peace on everyone
*On this lovely day*.

[Mother] Francesco. Francesco, what is it? Francesco, my sweet,
Francesco, what's happening to you, eh? You can tell me. We've always
understood each other. We, we've always been close, you and ... Let me
help you, my darling.

[Father] Well, sit down, sit down. Take a drink. Yes, business is
booming. Life's back to normal at last. Yeah, talking about business, I
have some fine stuff to show you that you won't find anywhere but here.
Well, not anymore, that is. Look at this tapestry. It comes from
Provence. That's beautiful, isn't it? Feel the texture of this material.
Now, I'd like you to compare this with one from Venice. Ah! This one here.

[Father] [To employee] Look at your hands. Look at your hands!

[Employee] Forgive me.

[Father] [To employee] If I find one single finger mark on any of my
silks, I'll beat you till you're black and blue, you dirty little pig!

[Father] [To customer] Ah! These servants are just like animals.

[Customer] How's your son? Better now?

[Father] Oh, yes, thank God. He's cost me a fortune in masses to our
blessed Mary, but the worst is over now. Now, there we are. Oh, he's
begun to get up, and one of these Sundays, you'll see him with us at
mass. Yes, please, please. Take it into the light.

[Clare] Do you remember me? I'm Clare. People say you're mad. Do you
know that? When you went off to war, they said you were fine and
intelligent. But now you're mad, because, because you sing like the
birds, and you chase after butterflies, and you, you look at flowers. I
think you were mad before, not now. Am I disturbing you? I'll go ...

[Mother] You see? He talks with her.

[Father] Thanks be to God. Ah! That's obviously what was wrong with him.
The boy needed a woman, eh?

[Mother] Oh. You look at things so clumsily, Monsignor. His heart is
waking.

[Father] Well, you can call it what you like, but if you ask me, that
lad's after a woman. That's why he's been acting strangely.

[Mother] What a lovely creature Clare is.

[Father] Hmm. Not much of a catch, though. Her father won't even give
her enough dowry to pay for a wedding. Still, if that's what Francesco
wants, we'll find enough money for both of them, hey, Pica? And you know
what?

[Mother] Yes?

[Father] I'm going to put him to work again.

[Mother] But ...

[Father] No buts. You've mollycoddled him long enough.

[Mother] But Monsignor ...

[Father] Shh, shh, shh. Besides, Francesco's always been very good at
business. He likes it. He does. He takes after me. Always has done.

[Father] Come, come. You shall see. I followed your advice, Francesco,
to the very letter. I bought and bought and ... and bought. And now, we
prosper. Oh, I may curse the war for having given you this, uh, this
fever, but, but for business, it was a blessing. Come, come. You shall
see. What you're going to see now will send the blood coursing through
your veins. Better than all those potions and medicines the women give
you. Eh? Go, go. Look at that, eh, Francesco? Look. You see this? See?
And to think people speak badly of war. Come, come. I'll show you. You
know how it started, eh, Francesco? With the war supplies. And then,
after the war, the soldiers came to sell their loot. And then the wights
who'd been looted by the soldiers came selling whatever they had left in
order to rebuild, practically giving away things for nothing. I'll show
you, I'll show you. Look at these. Look. Francesco, see these, huh?
Family heirlooms, hmm? Titled people. On their knees, they were. Cost me
less than nothing. And this is not all. It's just the beginning. And
there's so much more than that. Now we have enough money to manufacture
and sell with nearly 200 workers -- dyers, weavers. Well, see for
yourself. It belongs to you, too, Francesco. Don't forget that.

[Slaves singing] God bless the master of this house
And a lu-la-lu-la-lo
And a lu-la-lu-la-lay
Now milady, lady of
He be handsome, she be fair
And a lu-la-lu-la-lo
And a lu-la-lu-la-lay
Bring them buttons and bells and bows
A penny a rhyme will do me fine
And a lu-la-lu-la-lo
And a lu-la-lu-la-lay
Tuppence a rhyme, I told you so
God bless the master of this house
And a lu-la-lu-la-lo
And a lu-la-lu-la-lay

[Francesco] Yes. Yes.

[Father] He invited them, if you please, out for a stroll, just like
that. He simply led them into the sunshine, and they sat there all
afternoon. Nobody did a stroke of work. Oh. And that, that ... that
simpleton, that, that idiot boy -- he just ... he just looked on. He
doesn't get it from me. There's never been a history of insanity in my
side of the family. I've had enough of your high and mighty ways. You're
not in noble Provence now, madam, and you'll not play the great lady in
my house! You've ruined that boy! You've pampered him and spoiled him
with your Frenchified airs and graces. He's nothing more than a cringing
idiot. Something's got to be done, for God's sake, but not by you!

[Mother] You are a stupid, thick-headed, vulgar animal, that's what you
are. Don't you understand what Francesco needs? He's desperate.

[Father] Oh, Jesus, when I think of my own youth, I feel like flaying
him alive.

[Mother] That's typical of you. Treat him like, like one, .like one of
your clerks who comes to you whenever you stamp. But, but, but
Francesco's not like that, Monsignor.

[Father] No?

[Mother] No, no. And what's more, all the fathers and mothers of Assisi
envy us such a son. So, so sensitive, so intelligent. Ah.

[Father] This is the, uh, envy of Assisi, huh? Now you've gone far enough!

[Mother] No, Monsignor!

[Father] No son of mine, do you understand, however mad, is gonna behave
like this. Have you no respect for me, huh?! You will obey me in
everything! And if you do not, I will crush you within an inch of your life!

[Mother] No!

[Father] Is that clear? Is that understood? And, and starting tomorrow
morning, you'll come with us to mass, even if I have to drag you there
like a dog!

[Father] Come on, sit up.

[Francesco] No! No! No ... No.

[*Donovan* singing] Brother sun and sister moon
I seldom see you seldom hear your tune
Preoccupied with selfish misery
Brother wind and sister air
Open my eyes to visions pure and fair
That I may see the glory around me
I am God's creature of him I am part
I feel his love awakening my heart
Brother sun and sister moon
I now do see you I can hear your tune
So much in love with all that I survey

[Father] It's, it's mine!

[Francesco] This one. All of it! And this.

[Father] Out of the way. Where is he? Where is he?!

[Francesco] It will never make you happy. Throw it all away! Burn it, my
brothers, all of it.

[Mother] {Speaking in French]

[Father] You ...

[Mother] But he doesn't realize what he's doing, Monsignor. Be patient.

[Francesco] Father, father, I want to share my joy with you. Our
treasures are in Heaven, Father, not here on Earth. Don't be a slave to
these. Throw it all away. Do as I do. It's so simple. Be free. Father
... no ...

[Mother] No! No! Oh! Stop it! Stop it!

[Father] You lunatic!

[Francesco] No. No, my brothers. Don't touch that. Throw it into the
gutter. Throw it all away! It will only make you miserable. Look at my
poor father.

[Father] Quiet, you idiot. Call the guards.

[Francesco] See how he struggles.

[Father] I want to see him hang in the public square!

[Guard] It's Pietro di Bernardone. His son's gone mad.

[Governor] What is all this commotion?

[Cleric] It's Di Bernardone's son, he's gone berserk.

[Governor] Has he only found that out now? Oh, anyway, you'd better
alert the guards.

[Townsperson] He's out of his mind.

[Governor] What's the matter with you, Bernardone? Have you gone mad as
well?

[Father] I want justice, and I want it here, now, in front of all Assisi.

[Governor] Well, it would be helpful to know the charge.

[Francesco] What has the justice of men to do with me? God is my only
judge.

[Governor] Well, unfortunately, He isn't around to help us out. Why not
go to Bishop Guido, hmm?

[Bishop Guido] Do you think I'm going to interrupt my meal because of
some sordid family squabble? What heresy.

[Cleric] Your Grace.

[Bishop Guido] Oh, tell them I'm out. Say I'm praying or something.

[Cleric] But the whole town is down there.

[Cleric] They insist that the church intervene.

[Cleric] It's becoming an outrageous scandal. I really believe ...

[Bishop Guido] Guards! I've only just got over Lent, and here you all
are imposing another on me.

[Cleric] But, Your Grace ...

[Bishop Guido] Have it kept hot. God's teeth! Can a man not be left
alone to dine in peace in his own home?

[Townspeople] The bishop's coming.

[Bishop Guido] Pietro di Bernardone, this will not do. How dare you
disturb us when we are in the middle of saying our office. What's the
matter with you, man? Have you lost your senses?

[Father] It's not my fault, Your Grace. It's him -- that lunatic there.

[Francesco] Yes ... it's me. My soul is in your hands.

[Bishop Guido] What? Are you trying to cause trouble? Is that what
you're trying to do? Is this some damned plot to rob the church of its
authority?

[Father] That's nothing to what he's done to me, Your Grace. I mean, God
only knows, I've always given him the best. I, I, I brought him up, I, I
... I clothed him. I ... I mean, you ask anyone. They'll tell you. He's
never wanted for anything since the day he was born. But today, he threw
all my belongings out of the window! And he even opened my strongbox!

[Bishop Guido] Oh!

[Father] Thrown to a mob of cutthroats like himself down in the street.
Years of hard work and self-sacrifice just ... just tossed away.

[Bishop Guido] Then what is the answer to these accusations? Surely you
are sufficiently intelligent to understand that Holy Mother Church must
punish those who subvert the established order. A man such as you is a
... is a menace to society. He's either criminal or ...

[Francesco] Or someone seeking the light. Someone in darkness. I was in
darkness. But Brother Sun illuminated my soul. And now, I can see so
clearly. Just as you did the day you chose the sacred vestments you are
wearing now.

[Bishop Guido] Are you seeking holy orders?

[Francesco] Me? No. No. I'm not worthy.

[Bishop Guido] Then what do you want?

[Francesco] I want to be ... to be happy. I want to live like the birds
in the sky. I want to experience the freedom and the purity that they
experience. The rest is of no use to me. No use. Believe me. If the
purpose of life is this loveless toil we fill our days with, then it's
not for me. There must be something better. There has to be. Man is ...
is a spirit. He has a soul. And that, that is what I want to recapture,
my soul. I want to live. I want to live in the fields. Stride over
hills. Climb trees, swim rivers. I want to feel the firm grasp of the
earth beneath my feet without shoes, without possessions, without those
shadows we call our servants. I want to be a beggar. Yes. Yes, a beggar.
Christ was a beggar, and his holy apostles were beggars. I want to be
as, as free as they are.

[Father] But, Your Grace, even beggars show respect for their fathers.

[Francesco] I'm not your son anymore.

[Father] What?

[Francesco] What is born of the flesh is flesh. What is born of the
Spirit is spirit. I now am born again. Father, I give you back
everything that belongs to you: your clothes ... your possessions. Your
name, too. There are no more fathers. There are no more sons. And
everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or fathers, or
mothers, or children, or fields, for the sake of our heavenly Father
will receive a hundred times more in the life to come.

[Bishop Guido] Cover him. Cover him up.

[Child] Hey, come and see! Look at the crusader.

[Person] Bernardo di Quintavalle? Welcome. Welcome home.

[Governor] As I am presenting the keys of the city to the emperor, it
would hardly be very bright of me to present them from the rear, would
it? Besides, this is not a religious ceremony.

[Cleric] My dear governor, Otto of Brunswick is going to Rome to be
crowned emperor by His Holiness. How can you possibly say this is not a
religious ceremony?

[Governor] God moves in mysterious ways, my dear secretary, and He has
arranged, on this occasion, that I move forward.

[Bishop Guido] Ah! This is pure blasphemy! What? Do you suggest you are
in direct communication with the Word of God?!

[Giocondo] Sylvestro! Come here, Sylvestro. Paolo. Something really
marvelous has happened. Guess what?

[Paolo] What?

[Giocondo] Bernardo's back. Yes! He rode in through the gates half an
hour ago.

[Man] He looks ... fantastic.

[Giocondo] Yes.

[Bishop Guido] ... and I will make the speech of welcome.

[Governor] Let's not discuss it further. Everyone will have his assigned
place.

[Bishop Guido] But, but you are here.

[Governor] Mm-hmm.

[Bishop Guido] Streets ahead of me.

[Paolo] He couldn't have arrived at a more appropriate time. Let's meet
tonight and celebrate. Giocondo, you arrange it.

[Sylvestro] Oh, yes.

[Paolo] Yes.

[Giocondo] Hey! Bernardo! How do you like your chicken? Leg? Or breast?

[Bernardo] The only one of us that's stayed the same.

[Paolo] It's all show. He's trying to go back to his youth. Why else
would he choose this place to celebrate your return from the crusade?

[Bernardo] Crusades are nothing to sing about, I assure you.

[Sylvestro] Oh, come on, Bernardo, you're, you're famous. You're a war
hero. I say, you must have slaughtered thousands of Muslims. How many,
at a rough guess, would you say that you killed?

[Bernardo] Too many.

[Sylvestro] Oh.

[Bernardo] Where's Francesco?

[Sylvestro] Oh, uh, oh.

[Paolo] He doesn't live in Assisi anymore, Bernardo.

[Bernardo] I gathered that, but ...

[Bernardo] What's happening? Where is Francesco?

[Giocondo] Ah, you're not still talking about him, are you? We told you,
he's mad.

[Bernardo] What do you mean, he's mad?

[Sylvestro] Don't take any notice of him, Bernardo. He's pissed, as
usual. But Francesco isn't mad, is he, Paolo? He's not mad. He's ...
He's changed.

[Giocondo] He is mad. A raving bloody lunatic. Only a lunatic will
believe that God Himself had come down from heaven to talk to him. Right?

[Sylvestro] Listen, God has spoken to lots of people sometimes.

[Giocondo] How interesting. And I suppose you think that God personally
decided that San Damiano should be the first church in His rebuilding
program.

[Bernardo] San Damiano? Rebuil ... ? Is that where he's living?

[Sylvestro] Well, y-yes, I , I suppose so.

[Bernardo] Is he alright? Well, surely, surely to God one of you went
along to, to see him, speak to him. You must have done something. Look,
he is our oldest and dearest friend. He might need our help, for God's
sake.

[Paolo] Bernardo, listen to me, not Giocondo, he's drunk. Francesco's
not mad. Maybe he's very sane indeed. But you are a hero of the
crusades. You can't afford to have your name associated with his.

[Bernardo] What?!

[Paolo] None of us can. Francesco's been a great friend to us all, but
quite simply, we have nothing in common anymore.

[*Donovan* singing] If you want your dream to be
Build it slow and surely
Small beginnings greater ends
Heartfelt work grows purely
If you want to live life free
Take your time go slowly
Do few things but do them well
Simple joys are holy
Day by day stone by stone
Build your secret slowly
Day by day you'll grow too
You'll know heaven's glory
If you want your dream to be
Build it slow and surely
Small beginnings greater ends
Heartfelt work grows purely
If you want to live life free
Take your time go slowly

[Bernardo] Francesco? Are you all right?

[Francesco] I'm very well, Bernardo. And you?

[Bernardo] Listen to me for just a minute. I want to help you.

[Francesco] Words. Words, Bernardo. There was a time when I believed in
words.

[Bernardo] During all those months in prison, we talked so much about
you. We were sure you were dead. When they freed us, I had decided to go
to the crusades. And it was in Jerusalem that I heard you were alive.
But I was surprised by what they said, that you had abandoned the life
that you once loved so much. That you were looking for a new purpose, a
new meaning. You were right, of course. I tried that, too. Only for me
it failed. Yet it's too easy to blame the crusades for this .... loss,
this emptiness, this dissatisfaction I feel. The horror of war, the
destruction of our ideals, is part of it, I know, but there's something
else. I feel stifled by my past, by my upbringing. None of it means
anything to me anymore. And you, Francesco, you know better than anyone
else that I cannot live without an ideal, without something to believe
in. Perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps one should be more cynical and forget
ideals. I don't know. That's why I thought I had to come and talk to
you. What's the matter?

[Francesco] That would make a worthy cornerstone, strong and true. Where
did you get these, some quarry near here?

[Bernardo] Yes, it's not far. I can take you there, if you like.

[Francesco] Thank you, Bernardo. Oh, come and let yourselves be built as
living stones unto a spiritual temple.

[Giocondo] Stop laughing. Don't be such a fool!

[Sylvestro] Oh!

[Giocondo] Oh, I'll tell you, Bernardo's a ruddy genius. He knew that
all you lot wanted was to shot him out on some state occasion like a
circus act.

[Sylvestro] Look, if that's all you can say, you might just as well go home.

[Giocondo] Aah!

[Sylvestro] We've got to get Bernardo back.

[Giocondo] Go on.

[Sylvestro] Come on!

[Sylvestro] Bernardo, listen, Paolo wants to talk with you. You see,
they want you to present the keys of the city to Emperor Otto himself.
It's a very great honor. You're the only one who can make peace between
the governor and the bishop. Bernardo, are you listening to me?
Bernardo, please, you must come back. It's for the emperor himself.

[Bernardo] No. No, there's nothing I want to say to an emperor who
slaughters the innocent, steals from the poor.

[Francesco] No, Bernardo, there's a lot one could say to an emperor.

[Sylvestro] There you see, look. Even Francesco agrees with me.

[Bernardo] What should I say to an emperor, Francesco?

[Francesco] Well, what could you say? Mm, well, you could tell him to
throw his scepter in the mud, or to fling his jewels into the river.
Then he could see the glow of some new colors amongst the glistening
pebbles. And you could say, "Otto of Brunswick, let the birds nest in
your crown. Let the winds of heaven blow through your empty palaces.
What good is your life to you, if your riches bring you no peace of mind
and all your people starve?"

[Bernardo] That's what should be said to an emperor.

[Sylvestro] You mustn't listen to him, I warn you! If you're going to
say things like that, then you'd better stay here! You'll both be burned
at the stake as heretics!

[Giocondo] Stop bleating. And consider that maybe Francesco and Bernardo
here, in the way they live, have more in keeping with the gospels than
you and your lawyer friend in the bishop's palace.

[Sylvestro] You were the one who laughed loudest and longest at Francesco.

[Giocondo] Ah, shut up! That's true, but I always laugh when I don't
understand.

[Sylvestro] Because you've got marbles up there instead of brains,
that's why.

[Giocondo] I'll tell you something, though. I understand yours and
Paolo's dilemma. Now get back to Paolo. You! You pathetic little prick.

[Sylvestro] You just wait!

[Giocondo] Go on, get out.

[Sylvestro] We'll settle our scores later, Giocondo!

[Giocondo] Ooh! Get back to the convent.

[Sylvestro] You just wait and see!

[Giocondo] Bye.

[Sylvestro] Giocondo!

[Paolo] Idiot! I send you to get Bernardo, you come back without him.
You and that other ... Where's Giocondo? Where is Giocondo?

[Bishop Guido] Bah.

[Sylvestro] Throw your scepter in the mud, Otto of Brunswick! Fling your
jewels in the river so, at last, you see the pebbles! Let the birds nest
in your crown! What good is your miserable life when you, ah, steal from
the poor ...

[Man] What's wrong with the man?

[Sylvestro] ... slaughter the innocent, and hoard vast sums of gold,
while your fellow countrymen are starving to death!

[Governor] Get him!

[Sylvestro] Oh!

[Man] He'll be punished!

[Sylvestro] What have I done? I've done it. I've said it, Francesco.
Francesco!

[Bishop Guido] We are given to understand, my learned friend, that you
have, that you have joined the ranks of the state legislature?

[Paolo] Then your understanding is based on a misunderstanding, my
friend. I haven't joined anybody. I'm on nobody's side. I've simply
offered my services to the city to help stamp out the contagion of San
Damiano.

[Governor] Your Grace, we are told that the cream of the city's youth
has already been curdled by contact with this eccentric little
community, hmm?

[Bishop Guido] They are restoring a consecrated ruin for love. Is that a
crime? They have cast away all their possessions.

[Man] They have cast away all our possessions, which is a very different
matter.

[Bishop Guido] Yes, indeed, a very different matter. A state matter. If
you thought Francesco might start an uprising, you should have judged
him yourself before passing him on to me, who could not fault his desire
to live in poverty like Christ and the apostles.

[Renunciates] For Sister Poverty, we give thanks, for Brother want ...

[Giocondo] Don't be discouraged, people. Come on, at least we're not
thirsty and we're well washed.

[Renunciates] We give thanks.

[Bernardo] Forgive and you shall be forgiven and live in simplicity.

[Man] Get away!

[Woman] Move off with you.

[Man] Away!

[Man] Get out, pig!

[Man] Here, see if you like this!

[Bernardo] Thank you, brother.

[Man] Brother? You're no brother of mine. Get away.

[Renunciates] For Sister Poverty
We give thanks
For Brother Want
We give thanks
We give thanks
Thank you, Lord, for all Thy mercy
For the storm, and winds that blow
Thank you, Lord, for all Thy blessings

[Renunciate] Come.

[Renunciates] For Sister Grace
We give thanks
For Brother __
We give thanks
We give thanks

[Renunciates] Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.

[Francesco] How blessed are those who show mercy, for mercy shall be
shown to them. How blessed are the peacemakers; God shall call them his
sons and daughters.

[Francesco] Giocondo. What's the matter?

[Giocondo] God forgive me, a miserable sinner. God forgive me, a
miserable sinner. God forgive me, a miserable sinner.

[Francesco] He probably heard you the first time.

[Giocondo] Go away. Leave me alone.

[Francesco] Tell me.

[Giocondo] I can take all the rest, the cold, the hunger, but there are
days and nights when I'd gladly face eternal damnation for one moment of
love. I'll ruin everything you've tried to do, Francesco. I can't go on.

[Francesco] But, but you don't have to. We're not a regiment of priests
for whom the sacred vow of chastity is a discipline. We're, we're just a
band of men who simply love God, each according to his own capacity. But
if Giocondo finds the lack of a woman distracts him from loving God,
then he should marry and breed to his heart's content.

[Giocondo] You didn't cut my hair before. You knew I was weak. You knew
this would happen.

[Francesco] If everyone took the vow of chastity, the human race would
end. Be fruitful and multiply, but with a wife, remember.

[Renunciates] For Sister Chastity
We give thanks
For Brother Love
We give thanks
We give thanks.
For Sister Poverty
We give thanks
For Sister Want
We give thanks
We give thanks.

[Clare] Francesco.

[Francesco] Clare.

[Clare] God be with you, Francesco. Always. And pray for me.

[Man] No! No!

[Man] But they have been working with us today. Let's share what little
we have.

[Man] That way, you fool, there will be even less for us.

[Man] But they are poorer than we are.

[Man] Poor? What poor? They are the sons of landowners, sons of the
rich. Go and look for bread in your own homes. Why do you have to come
and steal from us, the real poor?

[Francesco] We are all poor in the eyes of our Lord.

[Francesco] Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, let me sow pardon
Where there is doubt, let me sow faith
It is in giving that we receive
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
It is in dying that we are born
That we are born to eternal life.

[Clare] Francesco!

[Francesco] Clare! You shouldn't have come, but I knew you would ... I knew.

[Clare] I have to tell you, and I don't care if the whole world knows
it. From now on, I want to live as you live. Don't send me away because
I'm a woman with little strength or gentle manners. I'm not seeking to
be understood anymore. I want to understand. I'm not asking to be loved.
I want to love. Where there is sadness, please, please, help me find joy.

[Francesco] Clare.

[Francesco] Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

[Francesco] Good morning.

[Clare] Give him to me. Stay here. Quiet.

[*Donovan* singing] If you want your dream to be
Take your time, go slowly
Do few things, but do them well
Heartfelt work grows purely
If you want to live life free
Take your time, go slowly
Do few things, but do them well
Heartfelt work grows purely
Day by day, stone by stone
Build your secret slowly
Day by day, you'll grow, too
You'll know heaven's glory
If you want your dream to be
Take your time, go slowly
Small beginnings, greater ends
Heartfelt work grows purely
If you want to live life free
Take your time, go slowly
Do few things, but do them well
Heartfelt joys are holy
If you want to live life free
Take your time, go slowly
Do few things, but do them well
Heartfelt joys are holy.

[Paolo] Good night, Your Grace.

[*Donovan* singing] Father of all things
Mother of light
Soothe and ease our human plight
Mary in mercy Jesus in joy
Please will you help us win the fight?
There's a shape in the sky beckoning me
There's a sound in the wild wind calling
There's a song to be sung for glory
And I feel that it's coming our way
There's a pain on the land weakening me
There's a sigh in the city of sorrow
There's a shadow of darkness accumulating
And I feel that it's coming our way
There's a love for all men sleeping within
There's a friend of a friend awakening
There's a jubilant joy bursting to be
And I feel that it's coming our way
Father of all things
Mother of light
Soothe and ease our human plight
Mary in mercy Jesus in joy
Please will you help us win the fight?

[Clare] Francesco! Come! The church!

[Francesco] Come on!

[Man] Quickly! Get some water! Has anybody called for Francesco? Look,
he's coming. Francesco, Francesco.

[Woman] Francesco, look.

[Francesco] What happened?

[Woman] The bishop's soldiers came. They wanted to close the church, and
Deodato ...

[Man] He wouldn't let them in.

[Woman] No.

[Man] He started fighting and called for help.

[Woman] Oh, he screamed and screamed and ... kicked them, and then they
pushed him. He struggled, but ...

[Francesco] Why? Why? Who could have such, such hatred for such a
creature? What did he do wrong? I must know. I must ... understand.
Somebody has to help me understand. Somebody has to help me. And there
is someone, if He would.

[Renunciate] Water! Away! Look. Who's that? There. Who's that coming
there? Come on, let's go and see.

[Paolo] Francesco! You mustn't go to Rome, do you hear? You must not go
to Rome.

[Bernardo] Why mustn't he go to Rome?

[Paolo] Never mind why, Bernardo di Quintavalle. Just bring him back to
Assisi.

[Bernardo] That's impossible, Paolo. You know that.

[Paolo] Francesco. Listen to me. Not as a friend, for I may no longer
call myself a friend. But you must come back to Assisi.

[Francesco] No. I must go to Rome to find out what I've done wrong.

[Paolo]What you've done wrong?! Then you can save yourself the journey,
because I can tell you, quite categorically, you've done everything
wrong. Everything! From the moment you ran away from the war, remember?
And abandoned us, your friends! And acted like a lunatic to cover up
your cowardice! And decided to be a king amongst the poor.

[Bernardo] Paolo, don't talk like that. You're, you're just jealous.

[Paolo] And if I am, I've good reason. He's had everything I've had to
work and scheme for -- riches, women, position, popularity, even God!
You just saunter out of your house one fine morning and pluck God out of
the air, as easily as catching a butterfly. It's all too simple.

[Francesco] If what you say is true, then the Holy Father will soon
point out the errors in my faith.

[Paolo] The Pope? Wha ...? You ...

[Paolo] So, you still think you'll be able to see the Pope. Just look at
yourselves -- the pride of Assisi. Filthy, starving, reduced to the
gutter. And this is how you hope to find an audience with His Holiness.
Well, good luck, my friends.

[Francesco] Paolo, you could help me. You know what to do.

[Paolo] Francesco, go home. I have enough money to see you all back safe.

[Francesco] Paolo, help me to see the Pope.

[Paolo] Well, if I do succeed, and it's very little likely, it will be
on my terms, is that clear?

[Francesco] Yes, of course.

[Midget] Make way, please. Everybody, make way, please. Everybody ...

[Crowd] Amen.

[Paolo] Read it out exactly in the way it is written here, changing
nothing. Do you understand? Francesco?

[Francesco] Hm? I'm sorry.

[Paolo] Read it out word for word. A masterpiece of evangelical
strategy. I almost believe it myself. Now, remember, what you must make
absolutely clear is that you recognize the supreme authority of the
Pope. And then, when you've made your submission to His Holiness, you
will withdraw. I've arranged for horses, for you, all of us, to return
to Assisi. Once there, I promise you I will do everything in my power to
reconcile you with the city.

[Bernardo] Paolo, why are you doing all this?

[Paolo] Because, in your simpleminded zeal, you could all be burned as
heretics. And besides, I don't want a martyr on my conscience.

[Bishop] They're hermits from Assisi. They're here to make submission to
Your Holiness. Their leader is, uh, Francesco. Just an ordinary
blessing, Your Holiness, to gratify Bishop Guido.

[Pope] You asked permission to speak to us. Well, speak. Speak.

[Francesco] Why? Why? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or
reap or store in barns, yet our Heavenly Father feeds them. Is there any
man among you who, by anxious thought, can add a minute to his life or a
foot to his height? Why the concern for your riches? Consider how the
lilies grow in the fields. They do not work nor spin yet even Solomon,
in all his splendor, was not attired like one of these. How little faith
you have. You ask, 'What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What are
we to wear?' When all these things are for the pagans to run after, not
for you. Set your mind on God's kingdom, and his justice before
everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well.

[Bishop] How dare he lecture us on the gospel.

[Francesco] You have stored your treasure here, here on earth, where
there is rust and moth to devour it, where thieves will break in and
steal it. But store your treasure in heaven where there is no rust, no
moth, no thief to steal. For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also.

[Bishops] Out! Blasphemy! Out! Call the guards! Blasphemy! Out! Out!

[Francesco] How little faith you have! No man can serve two masters. For
he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one
and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money!

[Paolo] Francesco!

[Francesco] Paolo. Forgive me. You went to so much trouble.

[Guard] [to Paolo] You come too.

[Francesco] No, not him. He's not with us. Well, tell him Paolo, you're
not with us.

[Bernardo] Tell him.

[Paolo] I am with them.

[Guard] Then go with them. Quiet! Quiet! Move along.

[Bishop] Your Holiness, I am most dreadfully sorry. Please forgive this
outrage. We were misinformed. We were given to understand this was a
humble group of hermits.

[Bishop] He isn't well. Shall we suspend the audience? Do you wish to
retire, Your Holiness? Your Holiness.

[Pope] Where is he?

[Bishop] Who, Your Holiness?

[Pope] Where is that man?

[Bishop] Below, Your Holiness. Our guards have arrested him.

[Pope] Call him back. Bring him here immediately!

[Pope] What do you want of us?

[Francesco] I have often watched the larks in the fields round my home.
They are such humble, modest creatures who need only a sip of water and
a few berries in order to live, and soar into the heavens. One day, I
found myself thinking that we, too, could be happy if we were content
with little, like the larks. If we could live as they live, singing, and
thanking the Lord who created us. And that is why we came to Rome, to
ask your advice.

[Pope] Well, what advice can I possibly give you, my dear young brother?
God has given you a most precious gift, the grace to approach Him
through His beloved creatures. What more can you want?

[Francesco] Simple people understand us, but the others -- perhaps we've
made mistakes. This is what we want to know. Is it not possible, Holy
Father, to live according to the teachings of our Lord? Or have we
sinned through presumption? If that be the case, then we would like Your
Holiness to tell us of our errors.

[Pope] My dearest son, errors will be forgiven. In our obsession with
original sin, we too often forget original innocence. Don't let that
happen to you. You've brought me, dear children, great joy and a little
sadness. I, too, started my vocation -- oh, long ago -- in much the same
way as you. But, with time, all that enthusiasm passed, and the
responsibilities of church government took hold of me, as you see. And
what will happen to those who come after you? Have you thought enough
about them?

[Francesco] But if it be true for us, then how can it not be true for them?

[Pope] We are encrusted with riches and power. You, in your poverty, put
us to shame. Francesco, Francesco, go in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Preach the truth to all men. May your disciples increase a
thousandfold, and flourish like the palm tree. Our Lord be with you, in
your hands and in your feet.

[Bishop] Don't be alarmed. His Holiness knows what he's doing. This is
the man who will speak to the poor, and bring them back to us.

Brother sun, sister moon, I seldom see you, seldom hear your tune
Preoccupied with selfish misery
Brother wind and sister air, open my eyes to visions pure and fair
That I may see the glory around me
I am God's creature, of you I am part
I feel His love awakening my heart
Brother sun, and sister moon, I now do see you, I can hear your tune
So much in love with all that I survey
I am God's creature, of Him I am part
I feel His love awakening my heart
Brother sun and sister moon, I now do see you, I can hear your tune
So much in love with all that I survey