Every now and then you come across movies, series or documentaries that are symbolic and seek (in addition to many other things) to inspire and that’s what the movie CABRINI is. From Alejandro Monteverde, award-winning director of Sound of Freedom (#10 in the US box office and made over $240 million worldwide), CABRINI is a movie that tells the powerful epic of Francesca Cabrini, brought to life by Angel Studios. It specifically is a true story of one woman’s fight for the equality, health, and happiness of immigrant orphans.
Cabrini (played by the beautiful and brilliant Cristiana Dell’Anna), an Italian immigrant, arrives in New York City in 1889 and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. She decides to set off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and healthcare for society’s most vulnerable. With broken English and poor health, Cabrini uses her entrepreneurial mind to build an empire of hope unlike anything the world had ever seen.
“The world is too small for what I intend to do”, that’s one of the powerful statements Francesca or Mother Cabrini (as she was mostly referred to as) mentions earlier on in the movie. A captivating one liner that makes you think about the world in an entirely different way and considering what she managed to achieve in her lifetime proves that she knew exactly what she was talking about.
Further research reveals some interesting facts about her, some key ones include the fact that Mother Cabrini had aquaphobia and nearly drowned as a child, which spurred her fear of water a phobia which she overcame as an adult when she made 23 transatlantic trips to do missionary work around the world. She only became a naturalised citizen in Seattle Washington on October 9, 1909 and was canonised in 1946 by Pope Pius XII. To top it all off, Mother Cabrini became the first American citizen to be named a saint.
Fittingly set to release in cinemas on International Women’s Day (March 8), CABRINI isn’t just another movie, it is instead a symbolic tale that shares a story unfamiliar to most (myself included prior to watching) about an inspiring woman who was unrelenting and most of all, didn’t take no for an answer or blame certain limitations (imposed by society) for her numerous setbacks. It’s a movie one watches to learn, be inspired and as a form of entertainment – hallmarks of meaningful storytelling.
Circumstances and obstacles truly are a state of mind, with the right motivation anything is indeed possible… that’s the central message I learnt from the at times larger than life, Mother Cabrini.
