1963 Directed by Ralph Nelson
An unemployed construction worker heading out west stops at a remote farm in the desert to get water when his car overheats. The farm is being worked by a group of East European Catholic nuns, headed by the strict mother superior, who believes the man has been sent by God to build a much needed church in the desert.
Os Lírios do Campo, Los lirios del valle, Les lys des champs, Els lliris dels prats, Lilien auf dem Felde, Una voz en las sombras, Le Lys des champs, Nézzétek a mező liliomait, I gigli del campo, 野のユリ, 들백합, Polne lilie, Uma Voz na Sombras, Uma Voz Nas Sombras, Crinii câmpului, Полевые лилии, Liljorna på marken, Польові лілеї, 野百合
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Brazil
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After stopping on a remote farm, handyman Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier) meets the group of West German Catholic nuns that live there, who believe that he’s been sent by God to help build a church for the community, in Ralph Nelson’s comedy drama co-starring Lilia Skala.
Poitier won an Oscar for the film, and while probably not his best performance (there’s just so many) it’s certainly one of his most endearing, displaying the understated charisma and innate class that made him such an icon. He’s allowed to be a lot looser here than some of his other roles, giving the character a vibrant quality that’s full of an irrepressible zest for life, showing why everyone around gravitates towards him.
Much…
Sidney Poitier is very skilled,
Helping some nuns with their build.
With every brick layer,
They'll add a prayer,
Unable to show that they're thrilled.
ENCOURAGED BY Jack Waugh
There are a few actors not only today but in cinema history one can always count with and that rarely (if ever) will disappoint, and the more I watch his stuff the more I realize Sidney Portier is a prime example of it. Way before and just like a Denzel or Morgan Freeman, there's something just inherently about his persona and presence that's just magnetic to watch - especially back in his heydays in the 60s and 70s.
This one is probably that's least talked about when it comes to his work, but one that deserves much attention. And while its rooted themes of faith and religion are unescapable, I think its core thesis and message…
Sidney Poitier is absolutely terrific in Lilies of the Field, he gives a very flamboyant performance and is such a likeable character. The religious themes in the story are unavoidable, but not jarring at all, and it’s a very easy and enjoyable watch. A film that brought a smile to my face with an actor who was just incredible, and he really was one of a kind.
The newest episode of The Searchers is out now! Ben and Kevin meet up with good friend Joe Wilson to talk up Sidney Poiter's first Oscar-win and the other joys this little independent film conjures. I missed out unfortunately so my review is below!
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What I particularly love about this film is its simplicity. Secondary to that is the fact that there is no real villain, just every day people facing obstacles together. The film remains entertaining in its directness with subtle humor and great characters. The intrigue builds because we really wonder if one man commits to those in need. The breezy lucidity of Lilies of the Field is its greatest strength which is perfect when we are introduced…
I’m not getting through to you.
Well, the schapel is being built, and that’s all that matters.
I wanted to build it myself.
God is building out there the schapel, and you sit here feeling sorry for yourself because you are not Him?
Sidney Poitier’s Oscar-winning turn as a passing handyman conscripted by a small nunnery into an increasingly cumbersome series of projects is a real treat. The progression of the relationship between Homer and the nuns is so emotionally uplifting, with just the right mix of humor and solemnity. This story was just what I needed on a mental health day off from work. Highly Recommended.
Added to: Old Movies Ranked
☆"That's a Catholic breakfast? One egg? That old lady, she don't hand out grub like she hands out orders, does she?"☆
As a cinephile, I wouldn't be doing my due diligence this Black History Month if I didn't watch a film starring Sidney Poitier. I'm going to see a couple, but I had to check this landmark picture off first, fittingly on Oscar Sunday: Lilies of the Field, featuring the legendary screen star who went on the win the Best Actor Academy Award in early 1964, the first African-American to ever take home a lead actor trophy.
This historic win might be muted by some pessimists, or those who look at the Academy with disdain for the hundreds of men…
Bad explanation: A group of nuns use religion and bad language skills to gaslight a poor man into giving them free labor.
As Homer Smith, Sydney Poitier gives glimpses of the fierce independence that would inform his more iconic role in In the Heat of the Night, but Lilies of the Field stands on its own as a sweet-natured film whose particular claim to fame is in the critical acclaim - Poitier would become the first black actor to receive an Oscar for a leading performance. The film recognizes the slight absurdity of the situation - a group of East German nuns that have hopped the Berlin Wall and have found their way to Arizona, where they treat Homer's arrival…
Man, that "Amen" song going to be stuck in my head.
Sidney Poitier truly set a standard for leading African American actors, if it weren't for Sidney, we wouldn't have Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Jonathan Majors, and Chadwick Boseman.
Sidney, you will be missed by all.
Handyman Homer Smith is driving through the desert one day when his car begins to overheat. He pulls off the road and gets some water at a house where 5 nuns live, little knowing that the mother superior (Lilia Skala) will recruit him to build them a chapel.
Homer doesn't want to build a chapel. Not at first. He's a wanderer looking for steady, paying, work. That's what has drawn him westward in the first place. Homer fixes the nuns' roof, but expects to be paid for it. Instead he slowly finds himself drawn into their lives and building that chapel anyway. In fact, he finds a strange satisfaction in building that chapel. It eventually becomes his obsession. It will…
I'm glad I gave this film a chance; my better judgment told me not to. This was primarily because I saw early on where this mild movie was going, and that was indeed precisely where it went. An itinerant laborer (Sidney Poitier) drops by an out-of-the-way convent somewhere in the American Southwest to get water for his radiator, and ends up staying to build the nuns a chapel.
Misunderstandings abound, of course, beginning with language barriers. The nuns speak German, the locals speak Spanish and Poitier's character speaks English. Several minutes are spent watching people speak confusedly at each other, and there are English lessons, all of which is just as fascinating as it sounds.
If I was a churchgoer,…
**Part of the Best Picture Project**
Oh boy. It's been a while since I've had one of these on the Project. A Best Picture film so clinical and insipid that it's almost pure evil. In fact, the last time I had a film I disliked this much was back in 1941 with Blossoms in the Dust.
It wouldn't be fair if I didn't note at least one good thing about this film and that would be Sidney Poitier, for which he would be the first black actor to get the Best Actor reward. He's very charming in this film and almost manages to elevate the film past its old fashioned racism. Almost.
Now. Where do I start?
The film's biggest…
