'The Two Popes' proves to be charming buddy movie in vestments
Believers of all religions can agree on one thing: the Vatican is an unlikely place for a bromance.
The novelty of Fernando Meirelles’ The Two Popes is right there in its title. There has only been one leader of the Roman Catholic Church going back centuries except in trying times of, you know, schism.
But Meirelles’ film, from a script by Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour, The Theory of Everything) concerns a real moment in recent history during an unusual Vatican transition.
In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (played by Anthony Hopkins), resigned from the papacy, the first to do so since the 15th century.
The Two Popes takes place just before this momentous decision, as Pope Benedict is mulling it over.
In the film, he summons the Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce), his eventual succession as Pope Francis, from Buenos Aires to Rome for a tête-à-tête, or, if you will, a pope-à-pope.
The Two Popes might be an optimistic portrait of the Catholic Church and its leaders. But in these sweetly sincere scenes, you forget Benedict and Bergoglio are pontiff and pontiff-to-be. And the moment of respite from the world’s arguments and divisions feels like a benediction.
At: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/culture/a-fantasy-of-impossible-intimacy-the-the-two-popes-a-buddy-movie-in-vestments.phtml