Product: Lilies of the Field [VHS] (1963)
Rating: 5.0
great film with a powerful message....
If you are looking for a good introduction to the masterful actor, Sidney Poitier, I truly reccomend that you watch LILIES OF THE FIELD. What distinguishes Poitier from other actors that I have seen is the way in which he embodies the characters he brings to the screen. Poitier has the grace of a dancer and the presence of a prize fighter. His combination of charisma and realism in the role of Homer Smith absolutely grabs your attention and you can't help but watch him.Smith is an unemployed man, who is highly skilled with his hands and willing to take on odd jobs to make his way out of a small town in the Southwest. By a strange twist of fate, he encounters an Eastern European nun, Mother Superior Maria (Lilia Skala), who has prayed to God that she be brought someone to build a chapel for the large immigrant population in her parish. (They are holding worship services literally in the middle of the desert, with not church in sight.) Every time Homer tries to leave, (seemingly) a higher power keeps bringing him back to Maria and the other sisters (who speak few words of English).Not only is this film a great examination of faith and the power of prayer, but it also is a great examination of racial and cultural relations in 1960s United States, through the eyes of immigrants and an outsider. This film is intelligent, without being preachy. It will even make you smile.