Saint Philip Neri: I Prefer Heaven

Heaven prefered for you and me.
Where can I start? What can I say? I just LOVE this film!!!! If I could give it 7 stars I would and that's no exaggeration. I have to admit it, I don't know much about Saint Philip Neri (SPN) other than that he was called the Apostle of Rome and that he is the founder of the Oratorians, one of the best orders in in the Catholic Church today, known for their great fidelity to the Church and their beautiful liturgies. I also know that TAN books has a great short biography on him. But enough of that already....about the film......

RAI 1 (the Italian channel that produces these movies) usually tends to secularize their saints somewhat excluding usually the aspects of the miraculous that have surrounded the lives of many of them. So I was greatly surprised when this movie covered it all! A truly Catholic film! Mystical visits, miraculous appearance of food, healing,......all captivated in a very devotional manner. What is even more wonderful is the joy that the actor brings...

Great film for even those of us who are pagan
This is a wonderful and inspiring film for those of us who want to walk paths of compassionate love for others and sharing (flower children.) Saint Philip Neri like Saint Francis is a great example for those who want to walk those paths in humility and joy. It is nice to see a religious film that has several laughs in it.

Simple-Minded Historical Fiction
I came to this film already familiar with the life and spirituality of St. Philip Neri, who was my confirmation saint and in whom I have a special interest and devotion. I discovered the film through the Ignatius Press catalogue, which seemed to bode well for its quality. I thought it would be interesting to see a dramatization of St. Philip's life, and to be able practice my Italian comprehension as well was a bonus. Well, my expectations were crushed as soon as I started to watch the DVD. Instead of a straightforward biography of the saint, the filmmakers have woven a fictional story around the general person and times of Philip Neri. In this account, Filippo is a middle-aged priest who comes to Rome, where he ministers to homeless children (in point of fact, Philip was a young man when he came to Rome, and his apostolate was primarily with young men); the film follows the children into young adulthood through various fictionalized subplots and Philip's building of a church and...

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