Cabrini: A Saint for All Seasons

It's Easter Sunday, and it seems quite fitting to me to write this review today on "Cabrini," a biopic wonderfully directed by Alejandro Monteverde.  Cabrini is the first person to ever be canonized and awarded Sainthood in the United States.  (Being Jewish, I had never even heard of her!)  It turns out she was an amazing human being who accomplished what even atheists would need to consider "miraculous." Cabrini (Cristiana Dell'Anna) is the Head Mother of a small Italian Catholic monastery.  She decides she wants to help the starving children in China.  It's about 1890, and she writes to Rome to request permission for her mission, but her requests are rejected multiple times by the Catholic Church.  Due to her persistence, she eventually meets the Pope, who informs her that no woman is given that type of responsibility.  Not to be dissuaded, she convinces the Pope to let her expand her sphere of influence, but first she must travel to NYC, where many Italian immigrant families are struggling.  Cabrini and her small cadre of nuns sail to NYC and start living in the most violent and dangerous part of town, "Five Points."  (Even rats have a better life than the Italians living there, especially the homeless children.) Cabrini overcomes sexism, racism, post-tuberculosis illness (with a five-year prognosis), political opposition, and other formidable obstacles to accomplish as much as Steve Jobs or Elon Musk!  She establishes numerous orphanages and charitable hospitals all over the world! The cinematography of NYC (by Gorka Gómez Andreu) is spectacular, which is why I recommend that it be seen on the B.S.  There are also excellent performances from Dell'Anna, John Lithgow (as NYC Mayor Gould), and Romana Maggiora, who plays a Five Points prostitute named Vittoria who assists Cabrini on her journey to greatness. Bottom Line: Cabrini is someone we should know about, and the film, although a bit slow at times, is a fitting tribute to her.