In 1972, Italian director Franco Zeffirelli released Brother Sun, Sister Moon, a film about the early years of St. Francis. While it was not the first film to be made about his life, this image of the saint was undoubtedly unique; Zeffirelli’s Francis, in his speech, mannerisms, appearance, and teachings, closely resembled the “hippie.” Such a representation does seem to align with aspects of the historical life of Francis but becomes worth examining when considering the political life of the director, a lifelong Christian Democrat who held a seat in the Senate as a member of the right-wing party Forza Italia in the 1990s. How does a religious and conservative Zeffirelli make a film that equates a saint to the “hippies” around him? This paper seeks to explore these tensions by considering the personal history of the director, the production history of the film, and the political history of Western Europe during the time of production. This paper will argue that Brother Sun, Sister Moon is not a celebration of the student-led counterculture movement but rather an appeal on behalf of the director to seek alternative and more peaceful means of political expression that the establishment can more easily control.