LILIES OF THE FIELD (1963) *** Sidney Poitier is a young smart aleck who calls white guys "boy," and lives in a station wagon with the door tied shut with a rope. The station wagon runs into trouble, surprise!, so he pulls off the Arizona desert highway to...naturally a mission run by East German nuns. In no time at all they've tricked him into going to work even though they just give him an egg for breakfast. Events conspire to involve the Mexicans which we all know leads to tequila and wine. Lilia Skala is very good as the meanest poignantest most full of Faith nun of them all, Poitier is quite nearly brilliant. The scenes where he's joshing the nuns into singing spirituals in negro vocce' are glee of the finest magnitude. He builds them a chapel in the desert, maybe just for insurance, and heads on up the road. Amen.
back to Brilliant Observations on 2120 Films page, or Index
go back home, or send me email
Reviews won't do it any more! I need sustained brilliance! I want to buy your exciting new terrorist novel!
I've already read both of your novels. Thank you, they're amazing. Now I want to check out your weekly blog on everything