Film

Lilies of the Field

Name: Lilies of the Field
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 1963
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis

Drama

A drifter's car breaks down at a remote desert convent, and the resourceful nuns convince him—through charm, stubbornness, and faith—that God sent him to build them a church. Poitier carries this gentle, funny film with warmth and grace, finding both comedy and quiet dignity in the collision between practical need and spiritual certainty. It's a film about kindness between strangers that never feels naïve.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy gentle comedies where stubborn people slowly soften toward each other, and where warmth comes from small daily exchanges rather than big speeches or plot machinery.

Skip it if you need brisk plotting or a steady stream of incident, since much of the running time is simple back-and-forth between a drifter and a household of determined nuns.

What it asks of you: It runs about ninety minutes and moves at an unhurried, conversational pace, asking you to stay with character and small moments rather than chase a story.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

It Happened One Night1934

A scrappy road movie about a drifter and a strong-willed woman learning to trust each other across class lines. Same DNA of two people fundamentally at odds who become partners—witty, tender, and endlessly watchable.

But It's nearly ninety years old and moves at a leisurely pace; modern audiences sometimes find pre-war screwball pacing glacial.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner1967

Another Poitier triumph about grace under social pressure, this time navigating family prejudice with intelligence and composure. Explores how dignity and kindness are acts of resistance, with Katharine Hepburn at her finest.

But The racial themes, though handled beautifully, are inseparable from the film, and some may find the resolution too tidy for the weight of what precedes it.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel2012

An ensemble of older characters finding purpose and community in an unexpected place, with warmth, humour, and genuine emotional stakes. Celebrates people who haven't finished becoming themselves.

But The sentimentality is deliberate and pervasive; if you're allergic to heartfelt moments, you'll feel trapped.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Lilies of the Field

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Chariots of Fire1981

Both films are about faith as engine—not faith as conflict, but faith as clarity. The characters don't argue about belief; they simply live it, and the film trusts that as enough.

Two runners with unshakeable faith—one Christian, one Jewish—navigate competition, conviction, and belonging. Like Lilies of the Field, it finds poetry in the quiet certainty of people who know who they are and what they're meant to do.

But The synthesizer score is inescapable and will either move you or make you wince; the film's sentimentality about faith and British institutions may feel dated or overstated.

A Man for All Seasons1966

Another Oscar-winning faith-centred drama about conscience and conviction, where dialogue and character matter more than spectacle. Beautifully acted meditation on standing by what you believe.

But It's a chamber piece dressed as an epic—if you need plot momentum or visual dynamism, this will feel static and talky.

My Name Is Khan2010

Shah Rukh Khan plays a quietly determined man of faith navigating prejudice and misunderstanding with patience and conviction. Generous-hearted film about bridge-building between communities through persistence and decency.

But At two hours twenty, it sprawls; the second half loses some of the first half's narrative tautness and trades plot for message.

The Quiet Man1952

John Wayne as a man trying to find peace far from his past, helped by Irish eccentrics and strong-willed women. A John Ford film about outsiders finding home, shot in ravishing colour and full of joy.

But The gender politics are of its era; some will find the romantic subplot's trajectory jarring by modern standards.

Babette's Feast1987

A mysterious chef cooks an impossible meal for a small, austere religious community, exploring grace, sacrifice, and what happens when generosity meets rigid faith. Visually sumptuous and emotionally devastating.

But The pacing is deliberate to the point of slowness; the film trusts you to sit still and absorb rather than be entertained.

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness1958

Ingrid Bergman as a missionary in China building community and faith in a small village. Another film about one person's conviction reshaping a place, driven by genuine affection for the people she meets.

But Some of the cultural representation creaks with age; the film is also quite long and moves in an old-fashioned, stately way.

Nomadland2021

Both films honour practical kindness as a form of grace. They trust small moments of human connection more than plot, and they find dignity in working with your hands alongside others.

Frances McDormand as a woman living in her van, drifting through America and finding community among other transient workers. A contemporary echo of Lilies of the Field's central promise: that strangers can become family through shared work and acceptance.

But It's formally experimental—shot partly with non-actors, deliberately unglamorous and slow. If you want traditional narrative structure, the film will frustrate you.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg1964

Both are countercultural films from the same era, working against the grain of their respective genres. Lilies of the Field rejects cynicism; Cherbourg rejects easy happiness. Both trust the audience to find meaning in what's not spelled out.

A musical romance in a small French port town, all impossible colour and melancholy beauty. Genre-wise, it's the opposite of Lilies of the Field, but it shares that film's faith in small communities and the idea that ordinary people contain depths.

But It's a musical, which immediately loses some viewers. More troubling: the ending refuses sentiment and closure in ways that leave many people angry rather than moved.