FFrancesca Cabrini – broadcast tonight on prime TV at 9.20pm on Channel 5 – And the biopic that tells the life of the nun of the same namedetermined and visionary, who at the end of the nineteenth century he arrived in New York from Lombardy to help thousands of Italian immigrants reduced to conditions of extreme poverty. Protagonist of the film she is the very good Neapolitan actress Cristiana Dell’Anna.
Francesca Cabrini: the plot of the film tonight 2 January on TV for the first time on Canale 5
1880. Codogno, Lombardy. Sister Francesca Cabrini (Cristiana Dell’Anna) and her group of missionaries runs an orphanage. It is the end of the nineteenth century, therefore a time of great migrations of Italians abroad and the religious wants to create a global assistance network, starting from China, to help migrants in difficulty. Pope Leo XIII (Giancarlo Giannini) receives her in the Vatican to listen to her and, after her project is rejected eleven times, the Holy Father he suggests she go to New York to help the Italian emigrants.
Francesca thus leaves for the Big Apple but encounters a series of obstacles. One above all, the city’s archbishop Corrigan (David Morse) who doesn’t believe in her and he doesn’t want to give her the funds to help Italian men, women and children. Despite her precarious health, the nun does not give up and thanks to the Mayor of New York (John Lithgow) gets a loan to restore a building and make it a hospital with 400 beds for all immigrants.
Became one of the most influential women of her era, Francesca Cabrini founded the Columbus hospital, one of the best in New York in welcoming immigrants of all origins. Over the years, the religious He traveled very often and founded 67 institutions including schools, hospitals and orphanages. His activity is incessant until death, December 22, 1917 in Chicago. In 1946 Francesca Cabrini become a Saint thanks to Pope Pius XII and in 1950 it was declared Celestial Patroness of all emigrants.
Cristiana Dell’Anna in a scene from “Francesca Cabrini”. (Lupine Film)
The extraordinary parable of the “Saint of migrants” in a somewhat lame biopic
Directed by Mexican director Alejandro Monteverde, Francesca Cabrini And an ambitious biopic which however remains strongly anchored to a classic historical narrativerenouncing a truly authorial vision. The screenplay suffers at times from a heavy pace and excessive durationand the story repetitively traces the obstacles faced by the protagonistmaking the conflict less impactful than it could be.
Despite the great potential of the story, the film often remains on a hagiographic level, favoring the exaltation of the figure of the saint compared to a deeper exploration of her interiority. It comes from it a portrait that avoids investigating in depth the psychological and spiritual complexity of the religious womanas well as its possible contradictions.
On a visual and technical level, however, the film is more convincing: the historical reconstruction is accurate and the staging solid. Photography, costumes and sets succeed effectively transport the viewer to New York at the end of the 19th centuryrestoring both the harshness of the slums and the liveliness of the social context of the time.
Monteverde’s direction, however, remains on safe and predictable choices. Although it has the merit of making a significant historical figure known to a wider audience, Francesca Cabrini it therefore works better as an edifying biography than as a complex portrait of an extraordinary woman.
In the cast of Francesca Cabrini also the excellent actress Cristiana Dell’Anna
Neapolitan born in 1985, Cristiana Dell’Anna became famous a dozen years ago thanks to A place in the suna soap opera in which she played the twin sisters Micaela and Manuela Cirillo for four years.
From 2016 until 2019 he starred in the television series Gomorrah – The series, in which she plays the role of the young Patrizia Santore and, at the same time, makes her debut in music with the single Carp DM. In 2021, the actress is in the cast of I’m laughing here by Mario Martone and of It was the hand of God by Paolo Sorrentino while this year she appeared in the Netflix series History of my family starring Eduardo Scarpetta.
The rest of the cast, however, can count on John Lithgow’s experience and, above all, that of Giancarlo Giannini in a small but significant role. Among the actors too the rising star Romana Maggiora Verganowhich rose to prominence last year thanks to There’s still tomorrow by Paola Cortellesi e The time it takes by Francesca Comencini, interpretations that gave her two nominations for the David di Donatello of 2025 as Best Supporting Actress.