This week I watched two religious films I haven't reviewed previously so I decided to review them both (in the first two weeks of lent, along with the two films I posted reviews for I also watched
Mother Teresa (2003) and
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) which I have reviewed in years prior).
Maria Goretti is an Italian TV movie produced by Rai 1 on February 23rd, 2003 and directed by Giulio Base from a script by Franco Bernini. It tells the story of the Catholic virgin and martyr Maria Goretti (played by Martina Pinto).
Maria Goretti is a pious film and, like many other saint biopics produced in Italy, presents a fairly straightforward account of the saint's life, but it's also a darker and more complex filmthen you might expect. It offers a surprisingly nuanced exploration of hatred and forgiveness and also explores issues related to labor relations and social justice (there are references Catholic social teaching, specifically Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum).
Maria's family are poor peasants trying to scrape out a living in Southern Italy. Maria's father, Luigi Goretti (Massimo Bonetti), leads the other peasants in a strike against their greedy landlord, Count Atilio Mazzoleni (Luca Biagini), much to the consternation of Giovanni Serenelli (Manrico Gammarota), a hateful drunk with whom the Gorrettis share a home. Giovanni would like to oppose Mazzoleni using more violent means, and he and Luigi argue over the morally right way to approach the situation. Father Basilio Morganti (Flavio Insinna) agrees with Luigi and tries to persuade Mazzoleni to treat his workers more fairly, but his words fall on deaf ears.
Mazzoleni also refuses to provide the desperately needed Quinine to treat an outbreak of Malaria. A poor beggar, who Maria finds dead in the woods, is the first to die as a result of this, followed by Luigi, who refuses to stop working despite his illness. Father Morganti becomes more and more angry at Mazzoleni as a result of this. After Luigi's death he decides to quit the priesthood, so filled with hate he can no longer serve his flock. Hate is mentioned throughout the film. Early in the film, Maria's father tells her that Giovanni is sick, not with a physical ailment but with hatred, which poisons the soul.
Giovanni's son Allesandro (Fabrizio Bucci) also struggles with hatred, anger and frustration. Not only is his father a lazy drunk but he often takes out his anger on those around him including Maria's mother, Assunta (Luisa Ranieri), who he tries to rape at one point, and on Allesandro, who he brutally beats. Allesandro eventually decides to leave his father and join the military but this only upsets Giovanni more. "Why can't you be more like Maria" he tells him? Allesandro also begins to lust after Maria, who continually refuses his advances. Finally one day, he corners her in the house and, when she refuses to submit to him, stabs her to death.
But then the story takes an unexpected turn (at least for those unfamiliar with the saint's life). Maria forgives Allesandro from her deathbed, leading Father Morganti, who witnesses this, to reaffirm his faith and his commitment to the priesthood. He muses, "Maria had opened my eyes. She helped me to understand that there is no injustice, misery, or suffering that can defeat the strength of a pure heart and true forgiveness. If Divine Mercy has it's place among the saints, then may God always preserve, more then anything else, the innocence and sanctity of our children."
The cast all do a fine job especially Martina Pinto, Massimo Bonetti and Flavio Insinna. Giulio Base's direction is quite impressive for a TV film, his use of tracking shots is particularly effective. Fabrizio Lucci's gloomy cinematography perfectly fits the often mournful tone of the film as does the music by Ennio and Andrea Morricone (though the latter can be a bit repetitive at times).
It's not a perfect film to be sure. The film sometimes fails to provide the audience with proper context. For instance, the relationship between the Serenellis and the Gorettis is never explained. Strangely, Maria herself is sidelined for the first half of the film. We do get the sense that she is well loved by everyone around her and that she has a deep and abiding faith. Her preparation for her first communion is a major plot point early on. But then her life story is mostly obscure, her martyrdom being the main basis for her sanctification.
What's more strange is that the most incredible part of her story, her apparition to Allesandro after her death which led to his conversion and reform, is not portrayed in the film at all but glossed over in the closing text. Perhaps the filmmakers were limited to a short run-time or the writers wanted to focus more on the (largely fictionalized) story of the larger community but I can't help but feel this was a misstep. Still,
Maria Gorretti remains a well mounted biopic of the saint and a thoughtful reflection on injustice, hatred and forgiveness.
Score: 8/10
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