Leave it to director Franco Zeffirelli (ROMEO AND JULIET, JESUS OF NAZARETH) to successfully pull off an unusual blend of period religious history and 1960s flower power in this chronicle of the illumination of Francis of Assisi. The story follows young Francesco (Graham Faulkner) as he emerges from post-war trauma, renounces all worldly possessions, and attains enlightenment as a simple monk. His materialist father wants him to go into his textile business, but local beauty Claire (Judy Bowker) understands Francesco’s preference for dallying amid the fields of flowers. They start their own church and gradually attract a large following, arousing the ire of the local bishop who sends soldiers to shut them down. Puzzled by such hypocrisy, Francesco walks barefoot all the way to the Vatican for a climactic confrontation with the Pope (Alec Guinness).