Movie Review: Lilies of the Field (1963)

Lilies of the Field (1963) produced and directed by Ralph Nelson

Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier) is driving across the American southwest when he stops off to get some water for his radiator. He pulls in at a large house full of German women who offer him water and ask him to fix the house's roof, which leaks in the rain. He agrees since he's a handyman literally working his way across America. Their English is minimal and at dinner Homer finds out they are nuns. Their order had inherited the land and they came from eastern Europe (i.e. from behind the Iron Curtain) to use the land for the greater glory of God. They are farming but their real need is a chapel. The foundation is set and Mother Maria (Lilia Skala) thinks Homer (whom she calls "Schmidt") is the Heaven-sent man to build the chapel. He's more interested in getting paid for his work, though he is slowly drawn in to helping the nuns, even though he is a Baptist and a wanderer.

The simplicity of the plot lets both the story and the actors shine. The nuns rely on God to provide for their needs though they also work hard to meet what needs they can. When Homer says he doesn't want to work on the chapel, Mother Maria says that the nuns will. He offers to clean out the heavy beams from the foundation (still looking for a payday) and winds up doing much more. The local Catholic community meets outdoors for their Sunday Mass. The celebrant is a migrant priest who serves four other communities and has to travel 400 miles on Sundays in order to celebrate Mass for everyone. The priest advises Homer to move on, as does the gas station/restaurant owner who claims he's no longer Catholic. Homer agrees. When he takes the nuns to a construction company where they beg for more construction materials, he gets a job there, after dealing with the subtly racist attitude of the company owner. He's annoyed enough by his new employer to start working on the church. The subtle plot turns are really delightful and transform cringes into smiles as good starts winning out.

Poitier gives a great performance for which he won an Academy Award. He is honest, hardworking, and clever, with some ego that needs tempering. His love/hate relationship with the nuns becomes more and more loving. A beautiful scene has them sharing and delighting in religious songs from their disparate Christian traditions. Skala does well as the head nun who slowly learns more English and deals more successfully with Homer and others. Mother Maria relies on God and gives Him all the credit, which rubs both Homer and donors the wrong way. The supporting cast (including the guy who owned the Tribbles in the original Star Trek series) do a great job, filling the small community with interesting, three-dimensional people.

Highly recommended.