Product: Lilies of the Field [VHS] (1963)
Rating: 5.0
Has a mythic universality
This film teaches with an almost mythic universality. Into the Arizona desert come exiles from disparate places: Eastern Europe, Mexico, Africa. It isn't clear how many of them will be staying. But, still, a chapel needs building, for a new faith community. And the Mother Superior (Lilia Skala) is determined to get it built despite the poverty, even if she has to be pushy and sneaky about it. Into her life, and the lives of the other nuns, rolls an itinerant black handyman (Sidney Poitier). A product of modern life, he can seem loud and thick-skinned, but, inside, he's a genuinely nice guy. He's the perfect foil to be tricked into building something he does not yet realize he is aching to build.Spoiler Alert! The following reveals the (rather obvious) ending:The Mother Superior never quite thanks the handyman for staying and building the chapel, and the handyman never quite thanks her for giving him a chance to build something he would proudly sign his name to. But you can see the thanks in their eyes. This aspect of the film is part of its timeless allure. Through ambition, resentment, push, and shove; despite sometimes hilarious conflict, we get things done. In the end no one person wins, because everyone wins. A new chapel is built in the desert.