This film analysis/review will be in two parts to give me an opportunity to respond fully.

First, the film as a film:

Cabrini is the story of the first American Catholic saint, Mother Francesca Xavier Cabrini, the Italian immigrant who came to America to help the poor and homeless, with a special focus on children. It’s a story of a remarkable woman who fought against every kind of prejudice present—anti-Catholic sentiment, anti-immigrant sentiment, anti-Italian sentiment, and of course, sexism—after all, this is New York City in the late 1800s. The film is from director Alejandro Monteverde, the director of the surprise hit Sound of Freedom and Bella, and is a solid piece of filmmaking, if not a bit stylized for the subject manner.

The central performance by Christiana Dell’Anna is impressive. Her Cabrini is equal parts emotionally strong, feisty, and a sweet spot somewhere between determined and disrespectful. With all the obstacles set before her, not the least of which is her weak constitution, her character manages to work with a pope, bishops, and government leaders to achieve her lofty goals.

The look and sound of the film seem to want to reach to the heights of Cabrini’s story, with all its power and magnificence. But the music is far too loud and grandiose in the beginning, and if the purpose of the film was to lead the viewer to prayer, it succeeded. I prayed it would soon let up, which it did. But then it came back a bit too often, and a bit too strongly.

The cinematography was also curious. I tend of think of Italian camerawork as moving, prowling, able to back up and press in as the subject and filmmaker demand (I’m thinking of Vittoria Storaro and Giuseppe Rotunno). But at times I felt as if I were watching a Dreyer or Bergman film. The use of frontality and the placing of a scene’s main character dead in the middle kept this fast-moving tale a bit too rooted and sedentary, especially for someone so very much on the move. It reminded me of an Agony and the Ecstasy or A Man for all Seasons approach to the central personage—far too respectful and epic an approach for such a down-to-earth and “troublesome” woman.

The production design and costumes were PG-grungy, but more suggested the grit, grime, and depravity than even indirectly showing it. It looked real enough, but just didn’t feel real enough.

Stars John Lithgow and David Morse (you know who he is and will recognize him right away) make their appearance for the North American market. But Giancarlo Giannini (Best Actor Oscar nomination for 1977’s Seven Beauties) as Pope Leo XIII? Seems an odd choice for those that remember his work and persona way back when. But work is work, and he does a very good job.

All in all, Cabrini is the story of overcoming adversity and layers of obstacles to do a great work of service. For better or for worse (see rest of the analysis below), Cabrini presents the stirring story of a survivor and relentless advocate for the young and poor who achieves her dream through fortitude, intelligence, savvy, and courage. On this level, it’s deeply inspiring.

__________________________________________________________________________

Second, the film as a Christian or “faith-based” film:

Cabrini was executive produced by J. Eustace Wolfington, a Philadelphia businessman and Catholic philanthropist, and distributed by Angel Studios, which began as VidAngel and is now known more as the distributor of The Chosen and Sound of Freedom, among other “faith-based” fare. As written above, it’s a story of courage, strength, vision, and overcoming adversity. But I can’t completely call it a faith-based film.

In my definition, a true faith-based film has its real hero God, or Jesus specifically, or at least, expressed Christian faith. Yes, Mother Cabrini is deeply and historically Catholic, but we don’t get insight into her faith. She quotes Scripture once, with a large pause in between the two halves of the verse (Philippians 4: 13): “[We] can do all things…(sizable pause here)…through Christ who strengthens us.” It’s a great Bible quote, but the film leans on the side of the “doing all things” rather than the One who gives them the strength to fulfill their calling. On the more positive side, something of faith can be inferred when she encourages various people to take the first step and the resources will follow: “Begin the mission and the means will come.” Where I received that as an expression of faith, it could unfortunately also be taken as a general philosophy having nothing to do with God, à la “the universe is telling me…”, etc.

We don’t see her pray, though my guess is that her life was filled with prayer. Instead, we are constantly encouraged to look to her guts, her determination, and her political savvy as the reasons for her success.

In terms of the gospel message of salvation through faith in Christ, we have perhaps the biggest missed opportunity in a recent film when a repentant prostitute says that there isn’t enough water in the world to make her clean. What I hoped/expected to hear was that the blood of Christ/the cross of Christ/the sacrifice of Christ was enough to wash away her sins. Instead, we hear Cabrini tell her that she is strong and a survivor. A major whiff right there, and a major miss of an opportunity to share the gospel. As the scriptures make clear, good works should follow our faith. Mother Cabrini might have had a rock-solid faith in Christ’s love for her and sacrifice for her sins. But we wouldn’t know that from this film. We see the expression of good works, but the film credits her fortitude, attitude, and aptitude.

The Cabrini of the Cabrini film is a hero, a visionary—“The world is not big enough for what I intend to do”, a proto-feminist, a powerhouse, and a founder of a great world-wide mission. If great good works and social involvements led to salvation, this could be considered a Christian film. But in spite of the distribution by Angel Studios, the true gospel is not really presented here, even by implication. Instead of what we’ve come to call a Christian or “faith-based” film in the current definition, Cabrini is a religious film about an extraordinary woman, but one that exalts a person instead of Christ.