Movies are a mirror to the latent capability of in all of us. Through the courage of their characters, they inspire people to dream and those with dreams to achieve. 'Lilies of the Field' is a rousing film that warms the heart and shows us that events in one’s life are connected and they occur so as to nudge us in the direction that we are to meant to take.When a group of broke East German nuns, who migrated to America pray for a Chapel to be built and for God to send them an Angel, they encounter a migrant construction worker Homer Smith who has a passion for building things, who stops by their mission for some radiator water for his car. While he has no intention of staying back, he is taken in by their devotion and by the hardships they encountered in coming all the way to claim a parched piece of land that was willed to them. He puts aside his quest for a job as a foreman and agrees to build the chapel single handedly. The local townspeople admire his commitment and slowly convince him to let them help him. He moves from being a worker to a foreman, managing a decent sized crew. In the meanwhile, he teaches the nuns some English and shows them a fun and melodious way to sing and say Amen. In building the Chapel, he earns his stripes as a foreman.
The movie came out during one of the most racially difficult periods in America. It brings together an African American man and German nuns in a spiritual quest that symbolically eliminates the racial angle completely. Homer Smith and Mother Maria trade ‘Hitler’ barbs at each other every now and then. While the story is simple, it has an endearing quality, an innocent quest of purpose that one finds missing in today's cynical times. The nun's quest to build the chapel so that people of the region could have a place to reflect and pray in is only matched by Homer Smith's quest to move up in life. The story blends in both these objectives into a common one beautifully and that is the usp of the movie.
Director Ralph Nelson could not have chosen a better actor to play Homer Smith than that icon of the African American race - Sidney Poitier. ‘Lilies..’ was a precursor to the movies such as 'In the Heat of the Night' and ‘Guess Who's coming to Dinner'. In ‘Lilies..’, he portrays a man who gives new meaning to his ability, by channeling it into a completely different yet connected direction and lends his powerful personality and acting ability as only he can in an Oscar winning role. He is ably supported by Lilia Skala, who plays Mother Maria, the tough talking but kind hearted and devout Head of the Order.
‘Lilies of the Field’ is a fine example of life's many detours that show us our path.