I recently went to see the new Cabrini movie.
It is a delightful, inspiring film about one of America’s great – but largely unsung – women. At 142 minutes, it runs a bit long, but it’s an enjoyable 142 minutes nevertheless.
Mother Francesca Saverio (Frances Xavier) Cabrini came to America from Italy in the late 19th century. Her mission: to look after the poor Italian immigrants in New York City, especially the many orphans. Despite difficulties and prejudices, Mother Cabrini and her sisters succeeded in founding orphanages, schools and hospitals, not only in New York but across the United States and around the world.
For a woman who achieved so much and gave so selflessly, she receives astonishingly little recognition outside Catholic and Italian-American circles. She was even snubbed in a recent project to honour important women of New York. Even though she had received the vast majority of votes in a public poll, she was denied recognition (ironically, by the office of the mayor, whose 19th-century counterpart is a major antagonist in the film), prompting an outcry that was only silenced when Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged state funds toward a statue in her honour.
So it’s good to see her getting some recognition in a way that is likely to reach many more people than a statue in New York City.
And so, as much as I did enjoy it, I would have liked for Cabrini to be a movie more worthy of its subject: one which would resonate with and capture the public imagination and stay with it for a long time to come. Instead, I’m afraid that it will sparkle briefly like a firefly and live out the future only on Catholic shelves (or hard drives, or wherever it is people keep their movie collections these days).
Cabrini was well filmed with some memorably striking shots. The script was good with natural dialogue. The acting was decent but not stellar, though one could argue that the actors had no opportunity to display more than average talent as the script rarely moves outside the zone of comfortable storytelling.
It does not dig deep. It does not make us question. It does not send you away from the movie theatre wanting to know more and do more. I doubt many people will be inspired beyond the doors of the cinema to learn more about Mother Cabrini or to follow in her footsteps in service of the poor.
One area in which the film is sorely lacking is in its portrayal of Mother Cabrini’s spiritual life, her life of prayer and devotion to God. In fact, when it comes to this aspect of her life, the movie more or less draws a blank.
And that’s tragic.
What was Mother Cabrini’s motivation for the extraordinary work she accomplished against very many odds? Who was St. Frances Cabrini really, as a person and not just as a hero, a saint and a figurehead? These are two questions which we might expect such a film to address but which Cabrini more or less avoids.
Why should Mother Cabrini’s spiritual life be so obviously absent from this telling of her story? And is it valid to leave out this aspect so vital to the life and person of a saint?
Of course, I have no access to the decisions and influences – conscious and subconscious – which determined the direction of this film. But here’s what struck me.
When we tell stories, a range of interacting influences come together to determine the shape and texture of a story: the subject matter, the personal views of the storyteller, the cultural norms within which the story is told, the expectations of the audience – to name a few of the most important.
Storytelling is about making choices. That is as much true for documentaries as it is for dramas. Many decisions must be made about what to include and what to leave on the cutting room floor, where to draw a story’s focus and what aspects to relegate to the peripheries.
It is very difficult to portray interiority on a screen. Film is not a medium which lends itself naturally to that. It’s even more difficult to portray it in a compelling way. A relationship with God, however intense, may be thrilling to live but is boring to watch. The product of that relationship – the active part – is much easier to deal with.
Add to this challenge the fact that the world which Mother Cabrini inhabited is not our world. The way people related to one another and the world, the things that they valued, and how they understood themselves are all different. In order to tell a story about Mother Cabrini in 2024, one must tell it in a way that resonates with the values of modern Western moviegoers. Hence, a story which focuses on social justice and the strength of a woman.
As our society moves further and further away from its Christian roots and derides and dismisses religion more and more, it must be very difficult as a filmmaker to insert any mention of God, religion, faith or spirituality unless intending one’s product for a very niche market.
To attempt to bring God into the story would require a certain boldness – the kind of boldness apparently embodied by Mother Cabrini. And I do wish that those involved in making Cabrini could have found the courage to be bold. Better to be bold and fail, in my opinion, than to play it safe and be unmemorable. But then again, it’s not my money or reputation at stake.
But even so, the almost complete absence of God and prayer from the film is perplexing. I don’t recall God ever being mentioned by name, though there is one reference to “He who sustains us” (or some such wording – I don’t remember the precise epithet). And I recall one instance of grace being said before a meal but not any other depiction of prayer.
I confess I really don’t know what to make of that. I’m inclined to see it as cowardice masquerading as prudence, but perhaps that is too harsh.
Whatever the case may be, I consider God’s absence from the film an enormous and very noticeable flaw in what was otherwise a very enjoyable and beautiful movie about a truly inspiring woman. I only wish the filmmakers could have channelled just a little of her boldness to make it something more.