It's a partial biopic of an Italian-American Catholic saint set primarily in New York City from about 1887 to 1892. Mother Francesca Saverio Cabrini (Cristiana Dell'Anna) is a Catholic sister who founds the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She has frail health but an indomitable spirit of service. She is the headmistress of an orphanage in Northern Italy but feels called to establish orphanages in China. After great difficulty, Pope Leo XIII (Giancarlo Giannini) persuades her to launch her mission in New York City, which is amid massive Italian immigration that faces racist reactions from New Yorkers.
The film follows, in dramatic scenes, Mother Cabrini's efforts, against all odds and with the help of a former sex worker, Vittoria (Romana Maggiora Vergano), and five other mostly nameless sisters, to rescue poor and orphaned Italian children from the sewers of New York City. Archbishop Corrigan (David Morse) resists her at every turn, as does Mayor Gould (John Lithgow). Finally, in 1890, Mother Cabrini establishes the Sacred Heart Orphan Asylum north of the city on 15 acres formerly occupied by Jesuit priests. In 1892, again against opposition, she establishes Columbus Hospital, which is open to all ethnicities, including Italian.
The film is so focused on Mother Cabrini that we only learn the names of two other sisters in her group. It also emphasizes her many pre-feminist clashes with racist, arrogant men, both secular and religious. The cinematography is oddly beautiful in depicting grim circumstances, underlining that this movie is about a saint. Other than Dell'Anna, only a young boy named Paolo (Frederico Ielapi) demonstrates any real personality.
One always wonders about these "based on a true story" movies and how much has been created or exaggerated. Indeed, the mayor is fictional. Mother Cabrini seems like a significant person; I would have wished for a less sanctified interpretation.
The film follows, in dramatic scenes, Mother Cabrini's efforts, against all odds and with the help of a former sex worker, Vittoria (Romana Maggiora Vergano), and five other mostly nameless sisters, to rescue poor and orphaned Italian children from the sewers of New York City. Archbishop Corrigan (David Morse) resists her at every turn, as does Mayor Gould (John Lithgow). Finally, in 1890, Mother Cabrini establishes the Sacred Heart Orphan Asylum north of the city on 15 acres formerly occupied by Jesuit priests. In 1892, again against opposition, she establishes Columbus Hospital, which is open to all ethnicities, including Italian.
The film is so focused on Mother Cabrini that we only learn the names of two other sisters in her group. It also emphasizes her many pre-feminist clashes with racist, arrogant men, both secular and religious. The cinematography is oddly beautiful in depicting grim circumstances, underlining that this movie is about a saint. Other than Dell'Anna, only a young boy named Paolo (Frederico Ielapi) demonstrates any real personality.
One always wonders about these "based on a true story" movies and how much has been created or exaggerated. Indeed, the mayor is fictional. Mother Cabrini seems like a significant person; I would have wished for a less sanctified interpretation.