A documentary-style film about the 13-year abdication of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis as the new Pope, but with a more nuanced focus on the two characters themselves, it talks, discusses, questions, statements, colliding and exonerating. Oddly enough, I knew nothing about that period of history until I saw this movie. I had no idea what it meant to be a new Pope on that March night when the world was focused on the Vatican square. I had no idea what it meant for a new Pope to get at least 77 votes. My ignorance makes me respect and love this movie. You watch it the first time in the theater and then go home and watch it again on Netflix, from beginning to end, without interruption.
It's a movie about religion, but it's not boring. It's even interesting. Two figures on opposite sides fight in the form of theological speculation against each other. In their dialogue at the Summer Palace, the bishop criticized the narcissistic church as standing aloof in the new age, and Pope Benedict responded helplessly to the notion that a church that was in tune with the zeitgeist would be abandoned by the world, one conservative and the other radical, whether to change or compromise, whether God was coming or he was always there. They are at war over what to do about the scandalous affairs in the church, and confession only purifies the souls of the sinners but does nothing to help the victims
And as the role of the Pope himself, the film also gives a more human display. The world of Mortals, music, tango, football, pizza and Fanta, the connection to God, Even at the end, Pope Benedict said almost hysterically, "I can no longer play this role."“I dont hear his voice. Silence. For my entire life I’ve been alone but never lonely, until now.” This is one of my favorite lines, the helplessness of a believer, and the helplessness of being the Pope to admit that he has lost some connection.
I don't know exactly where I was moved by the movie, maybe it was the silent expression of love, the relief after the painful struggle, or the sincerity of people's faith. It made me cry in the dark and moved.
But still, it's a movie, and how much of it is real and how much of it is art, it's impossible to tell. Interspersed with images, news reports and videos from the period, it has a great soundtrack and a great story rhythm, and it has chosen two actors who can do the best job of interpreting the Pope, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, It is a blessing to still see these grandfathers on the big screen. Worth a watch!
