It's the European Film Festival again; although it seems to be a lot smaller affair. This is Italy's contribution to the festival, a biopic on Saint Antonio.
The movie begins with a shipwreck, with two survivors - Fibonacci (the mathematician) and a monk; and a supposed treasure. For the most part, the story focuses on the Monk, Antonio - who, as the film progresses is shown to be greatly admired by the general populace; because of his humility, and his affinity to the poor. For the large part, Fibonacci does not feature in the movie; except in the almost incidental contribution of the Arabic number system to the West; which is taken advantage of by a prominent money lender, who employs him. Antonio's major fight in the movie is against greedy money lenders, who feed of the poor and the unfortunate, but Fibonacci and Antonio are not shown together again.
It is a story about a Saint, and so it was like many religious movies, a bit preachy. The story, while simple, was not well told, in my opinion ... and Antonio's illness was never really explained. What was great about the movie though, was its cinematography - it's a stunning film, taking full advantage of some beautiful churches and medieval architecture.
A different comment: It is amazing to note how many scientific advances have been made on the back of persecution (or towards to cause of persecution) of other humans.
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