Angel Studios, a small production studio operating out of Utah, has swiftly ascended as a significant player in the entertainment industry with its unique approach to distribution. Offering a diverse range of, mostly faith-themed, content accessible worldwide; the small film and TV outfit has revolutionised the distribution landscape mostly through crowdfunding.
While their decidedly innovative approach has been making headlines ever since the extraordinary record-breaking success of Sound of Freedom in 2023 – the film grossed around $250 million on a modest $14.5 million budget – the studio has also scored some huge wins with shows like The Chosen, Dry Bar Comedy and more recently the faith-based sci-fi drama The Shift.
The latest release from this ever surprising outfit sees the return of Sound of Freedom co-director Alejandro Monteverde at the helm in this impressive biopic detailing the life of 19th century Catholic missionary Francesca Cabrini. Portrayed by esteemed Italian actress Cristiana Dell’Anna (Patrizia in the award-winning crime drama Gomorrah), Cabrini follows Francesca as she makes the move from Rural Italy to New York City in the hope of helping the destitute and the sick.
Shocked by the poverty, squalor and downright misery she encounters amongst the Italian immigrant community in New York, Cabrini and her fellow missionaries are met with anti-Italianist fervour and sexism from the mostly Anglo-Saxon local authority officials. Driven by faith and determination Cabrini works miracles as she gets people onboard with her ambition plans for a rural orphanage.
There is something decidedly sincere and beyond heartening in Monteverde’s latest production for Angel studios. He and screenwriter Rod Barr, with whom he had previously shared directorial credit in Sound of Freedom, have delivered a smart and commendably compelling story about a truly heroic figure.
Far from relying on hackneyed ideas, Cabrini manages to successfully bypass the usual pitfalls of poorly executed faith-based films, partly thanks to Gorka Gómez Andreu’s genuinely impressive cinematography. This is a film made by people who clearly know their craft inside out and it really shows.
There’s emotion aplenty in this sweeping biopic about America’s first female saint – Cabrini was canonised by the Catholic Church in 1946, almost 30 years after her death. Elevated by some beautifully understated performances – Dell’Anna is simply electric here – and a hugely compelling story, this is perhaps Angel’s very best film to date. Consider me impressed.
