Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

thejcowboy22 Strange but true! On a cold cloudy March Saturday morning in 1974 I went to work for my Dad at his Boiler and heating company in Ozone Park,New York. My father acting as a General in the military, barking out the orders had about 12 men in his employ and sent them out to various locations throughout the New York metropolitan vicinity. I was sent with a crew of four to Jamaica, Queens to erect a brick wall to separate the newly added boiler room in a textile company. When I arrived at the factory, there were palates filled with cement bags and cinder blocks as far as the eyes can see. All day long I was mixing concrete and lifting blocks. When the long day was over I came home sore and tired. Put on the Television and saw a Black man arguing with a group of Nuns in the American southwest. Noticed the same cement cinder blocks and; well; my attention was held for the next 90 minutes. Sidney Poitier plays an unemployed heavy equipment operator Homer Smith who's station wagon just happens to overheat at the out-of-the way convent. Mother Maria (Lilia Skala) claims that Homer Smith or as she calls him "Schmidt" was brought here by divine intervention. She pesters him to all ends with demands on building a new house of worship. Smith gives in and agrees to build a chapel. I could feel his solitude and pain in that hot desert sun carrying bricks and mortar. The Arayaan Sisters in her Black Habits and poor Smith taking the complaining all day made this movie so plausible. Great supporting role by Stanley Adams as the philosophical cafe owner Juan. Mr. Ashton (Ralph Nelson) who currently employs Smith is amazed by the teamwork and moral obligations by the local people,(Mainly of Mexican decent), of this area give what they can in order to help Smith build with Bricks, wood, and in time a chapel sprouts up among the desert sands for all to see. Our heavy set cafe owner goes on."A place where children can receive the sacraments.For these men, for their children to have faith, it is important.To me it is insurance. To me life is here on Earth. I cannot see further. But, if there right about the hereafter. I've paid my insurance." You watch a chapel being built. First by the lonely Smith and little by little everyone joins in. Love the evening English lessons Smith gives the European sisters and rewards them with lollipops. The AMEN song is infectious and pleasing to the ear. Just a good feeling for a passerby in a station wagon who makes a difference in this small remote region of America. I give this one 7 church bells. AMEN!

calvinnme Homer Smith (Poitier) is driving along a hot desert highway when he realizes that he needs water for his car radiator. He pulls up to a remote convent of German-speaking Catholic nuns. Poor, unsuspecting Homer thinks he'll just get the water and be on his way. But it soon becomes apparent that he's going to be roped into doing work for the Lord.Despite the movie's religious theme, this is not an hour-plus long sermon. This is a charming, humorous, wonderful movie. As usual, Poitier embodies his character with naturalness and ease. Though Homer tries his best to stay independent, arguing and threatening to leave the Catholic group on any number of occasions, he's also charmed by the innocent, and at times childlike, sisters. I loved watching Homer scrap with the hard-nosed Mother Superior in particular, whom he sarcastically calls "Mama". They are both stubborn people, for different reasons. She orders him to go to Mass ("I'm a BAPTIST!", he responds, but he goes!), and her declaration that he will be building their chapel sends him into a hilarious temper tantrum. But the viewer already knows he's in for it… Still, we don't anticipate the wonderful events that unfold around the building of it, and the insights we get into Homer Smith's character.I love the scene where the nuns ask Homer to play the guitar. He picks it up and strums, "Frankie and Johnny were looo-verrs…" The nuns sit looking at him silently, blankly. Homer quickly stops himself, looking as if he were wishing there were a hole he could crawl into.If one were especially philosophical, he or she could see this film and think of a higher theme, where there are times when each of gets into life situations where we fight and feel helpless, but in the end it was all "meant to be", for a higher purpose. But even without trying to get any deeper meaning out of it, Lilies of the Field is just a funny film with well-drawn characters that's worth a watch.

SnoopyStyle Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier) stops at a convent in the Arizona desert to get some water for his car on his way to the west coast and find some work. Mother Maria (Lilia Skala) leads four other Germanic Catholic nuns. They think he's been sent by God. With low funds, he decides to work a day for money. She sends him up to fix the roof. He does two days' work but when he tries to get paid, Mother Maria quotes the Bible, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." The nuns have no money and Homer is convinced to do more work. Eventually, he builds a chapel for the nuns and their poor Mexican migrant worshipers.This is what faith-based movies should aim for. It is compelling. It is funny. Homer and Mother Maria are a funny comedy duo. At its core, this is powerful message of faith and goodness. Poitier wins the Oscar, the first competitive award for an African-American.

David Conrad Everyone in the film seems to be a fish out of water, and this makes for a compelling mixture of humor and poignancy. The German nuns are not conversant in American culture and require—demand, rather—assistance to procure supplies, travel to mass, and build their chapel. Sidney Poitier's Homer (is the name an "Odyssey" reference?) needs a steady job, though he may not want to admit it. The English lessons he gives the nuns, and the Baptist hymn he teaches them, are the film's highlights, and these both come within the first twenty minutes. The narrative loses momentum as the chapel slowly takes shape, but at a mere 94 minutes it is not too long a movie.