The two popes

Movie
German title	The two popes
Original title	The Two Popes
Country of production	United Kingdom , USA , Italy , Argentina
original language	English , Spanish , Italian , French , Portuguese , German , Latin
Publishing year	2019
length	126 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Fernando Meirelles
script	Anthony McCarten
production	Tracey Seaward
music	Bryce Dessner
camera	César Charlone
cut	Fernando Stutz
occupation
	Jonathan Pryce : Jorge Mario Bergoglio / Pope Francis ; Anthony Hopkins : Cardinal Dean Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI. ; Juan Minujín : the young Pope Francis / Archbishop Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio; Sidney Cole : Cardinal Peter Turkson ; Federico Torre : Medina Estévez ; Thomas D. Williams : BBC reporter ; Fabricio Martin : Swiss Guard; Matthew T. Reynolds : English reporter; María Ucedo : Esther Ballestrine; Juan Miguel Arias : Paolo Gabriele; Lisandro Fiks : Father Jalics;

The Two Popes is a film by Fernando Meirelles that celebrated its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August 2019 and was included in Netflix 's program on December 20, 2019 . In Germany, there was also a limited theatrical release on December 5, 2019. The film is based on the book The Two Popes: Francis and Benedict and the Decision that Changed Everything by Anthony McCarten , who also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film is about the surprising resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. in 2013 and the subsequent election of the first Pope from Latin America, Pope Francis.

As part of the 2020 Academy Awards , The Two Popes received a total of three nominations, including Jonathan Pryce for Best Actor .

action

After the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio , Archbishop of Buenos Aires , was called to the Vatican . In the conclave , Bergoglio is considered a promising candidate, although he himself does not aspire to the papacy - unlike the conservative Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger , who ultimately became Pope Benedict XVI. emerges from the conclave. Because he believes that this will prevent the church from further reforms, Bergoglio plans to step down from his bishopric soon and return to work as a simple parish priest. Pictures of Benedict are cut against with documentary material in which supporters and opponents of Ratzinger comment on the choice of the "watchdog [es] of faith".

Seven years later, Bergoglio is still waiting for an answer to his letter of resignation. So he books a flight to Rome. He takes as a sign from God that he receives an invitation from the Vatican immediately after booking. Benedict XVI. is at the same time grappling with the Vatileaks affair, in which confidential documents about the Vatican Bank and sexual misconduct of individual priests are made public. You can see him extinguishing a candle and wondering how the smoke is drawing down.

In the gardens of Castel Gandolfo , the papal summer residence , Bergoglio meets Benedict XVI. and puts forward his resignation. Benedict strictly rejects it, as the resignation could be perceived as a protest against his politics. A discussion develops about tradition and progress, in the course of which Benedikt Bergoglio accuses relativism and compromises, while Bergoglio advocates changes and adaptations to the needs of the faithful. He also accuses the Pope that the Church did not draw the right conclusions in cases of child abuse by priests (indirectly he touches on the accusation made specifically against Benedikt that he, as Archbishop of Munich, covered priest Peter Hullermann despite repeated incidents of abuse and in the Pastoral care used by children). Benedict then threatens to withdraw Bergoglio's priesthood .

After a separate dinner, the two meet in a salon in the palace. Bergoglio again unsuccessfully submits his resignation. Benedict confides in him that he has difficulty recognizing the signs of God - as he used to be able to do without any problems. In a flashback, Bergoglio recalls his vocation to the priestly career in 1956, for which he had given up his work as a chemical technician in the laboratory and his fiancée Amalia. When Benedict XVI. plays something on the piano ( Smetana , Zarah Leander ) and performs his favorite show ( Kommissar Rex ), the mood is a little more relaxed. Benedict admits that he often feels lonely.

The next morning Benedict XVI. urgently to return to the Vatican because of the publication of Gianluigi Nuzzi's disclosure book . In the helicopter, he refuses the resignation for the third time. Bergoglio wanders through Rome alone, watching a World Cup qualifying game in a bar with Argentinian soccer fans . The following morning Benedict ordered him to the still empty Sistine Chapel . The theme of the divine sign is taken up again: Benedict reports on the descending candle smoke, which he interprets as God's rejection (allusion to Cain's sacrifice, Genesis 4 : 5). The fact that Bergoglio bought his plane ticket before he was invited is another divine sign. He tells the completely perplexed Bergoglio that he wants to resign from the papacy. He was tired from the fight with the Curia and his health was in poor health. Now that he has got to know Bergoglio, he no longer fears him as a successor, but rather sees such a successor as a necessary correction.

Bergoglio, on the other hand, maintains that he could never become Pope because he was too guilty during the military dictatorship in Argentina . As Provincial of the Jesuits , in an attempt to protect the order, he did not openly raise his voice against the military - as his former boss Ester Ballestrino had asked him to do before they were abducted and murdered. The two Jesuits Franz Jalics and Orlando Yorio , who wanted to continue their mission to the poor against his will, were deprived of their priestly status and thus enabled their arrest and torture by the military.

In further flashbacks, Bergoglio's further career is described: First, he was relieved of his religious offices and served for many years as a pastor in the province of Cordoba . It was not until 1998 that it was set up as successor by the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Antonio Quarracino , based on his social-ethical ideas . He continues to work among the poorest in society and lives an exemplary humble life. Still, doubt haunts him. Benedict exhorts him to trust in divine grace and gives him absolution .

The two of them retreat to the sacristy (the “Chamber of Tears”) in front of the tourists pouring in, where the bodyguards bring pizza and Fanta . Bergoglio says that he was able to reconcile with Jalics, but not with Yorio, who saw him as a traitor until his death. Benedict now demands that Bergoglio accept his confession. He pleads guilty to having buried himself in books and scholarship as a child and having lost sight of the world in the process. When he begins to talk about the abuse allegations against Father Maciel , the sound fades (it only becomes clear that Benedict, despite clear facts, did not draw sufficient conclusions in this case). Finally, he confirms that he wants to resign because he no longer hears the voice of God. Bergoglio comforts him and in turn gives him absolution.

On the way out, Benedikt enjoys the unusual bath in the crowd of astonished tourists. When saying goodbye, Bergoglio tries to teach the Pope a few more tango steps. In the following year Benedict resigns. Bergoglio emerged from the conclave as Pope Francis . His first steps in office show him to be immune to pomp and arrogance. He advocates social equality and visits refugees on Lampedusa . Partly with documentary material, friendly encounters between the two popes are shown. The credits mark an ironic end: When both of them watch the 2014 World Cup finals Germany-Argentina and the German winner hits, the smoke from a candle next to it rises upwards.

production

Directed by the Brazilian Fernando Meirelles , the screenplay was written by Anthony McCarten . The “forbidden diary” of an anonymous cardinal for the 2005 conclave , according to which Cardinal Bergoglio is said to have been Ratzinger's strongest “competitor” in his papal election, should also be included. Anthony McCarten's script mentions how Bergoglio hesitated for a long time to accept his election as Pope when his assertion against Peter Turkson , Angelo Scola and Marc Ouellett suggested itself at the 2013 conclave .

Anthony Hopkins took over the role of Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI. Jonathan Pryce will play his successor, Pope Francis , played by Juan Minujín when he was younger , when he was Archbishop and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Sidney Cole as Cardinal Peter Turkson , Lisandro Fiks as Father Franz Jalics and Maria Ucedo as Esther Ballestrine also appear in other roles .

In the German dubbed version, Joachim Kerzel lends his voice to Pope Benedict, Lutz Riedel speaks to Pope Francis.

Filming took place in Argentina , Italy , Uruguay and Spain .

The score was composed by Bryce Dessner , member of the rock band The National . The soundtrack album was released for download on December 6, 2019 by Milan Records.

A first trailer was presented at the end of August 2019. The film celebrated its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August 2019 and was shown as part of the Special Presentations at the Toronto International Film Festival from September 9, 2019 . In early October 2019 he was presented at the London Film Festival . The film was released in selected US cinemas on November 27, 2019 and in selected German cinemas on December 5, 2019, before being included in Netflix 's program on December 20, 2019 .

reception

Reviews

The film has so far convinced 89 percent of all Rotten Tomatoes critics and received an average rating of 7.4 out of a possible 10 points.

Sasha Stone of The Wrap writes, The Two Popes is proving to be one of the best films by Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles , who has made an appearance in the past with films such as City of God and The Eternal Gardener . The film is very entertaining, although it largely consists of dialogues between Pope Benedict XVI. and Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who later became Pope Francis , exists, peppered with some flashbacks in Bergoglio's younger years. The interplay of the experienced actors Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce and some funny ideas in the script turned the whole thing into something heart-warming and even inspiring, for example when the two men watch football and drink beer together instead of devoting themselves to their higher vocations. Both Hopkins and Pryce illustrated what acting is really about, but Pryce, who has flown under the radar all these years without ever receiving an Oscar for his great work, could easily change that with his performance. He knows this Pope Francis, whom he plays, so well that he never falls out of character for a moment, and because he knows that everyone loves him so much, he shows the viewer why he does this.

Britta Schmeis from epd Film says that the strength of the film lies primarily in the witty and above all highly amusing dialogues. It is a benevolent look that the filmmaker casts on these two men, according to Schmeis: “Controversial issues such as massive child abuse may sound like, but remain on the surface. And yet Meirelles' »Narrative Non-Fiction«, as the publisher classifies the literature, is a clever and very entertaining film experience of its kind. It could all have been like this, but it doesn't have to be. "

Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter writes that the conversations between the two men are completely convincing, and that while there is no way of knowing what these two very different men really said, the exchange of ideas between them seems like after all that is said about their origin knows, plausible. Alternating biting, wild, delicate and fragile, Hopkins shows his strength in one of the most lively roles of his long career. Farber also refers in his criticism to the often underestimated Pryce, who is at eye level with Hopkins, and one never tires of looking at the expressive faces of these two masters. Since the heart of the film lies in the conversations between these two men, it is thanks to Meirelles' work as a director that the film never appears static.

Christian Klosz writes on film plus criticism that the film is also interesting for people who are otherwise little concerned with the actual topic (Catholic Church). His conclusion: “In addition to a few dramaturgical weaknesses, a successful, surprisingly humorous chamber play that contrasts the two very different personalities Pope Benedict and Jorge Bergoglio, who would later become Pope Francis. Big drama cinema at a high level, where Jonathan Pryce is just a step ahead. "

“In any case, the director and the two great actors Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce succeed in making these encounters not only plausible, but also human and truthful. The actors enjoy the witty dialogues, while subtle feelings are reflected in their facial landscapes, from heartbreaking loneliness to the radiance of joie de vivre. Add to that the idyllic gardens and the splendor of the interiors, which the cameraman César Charlone does not aggressively exhibit, but lets subtly unfold its effect. "

- Anke Sterneborg : Süddeutsche Zeitung