The Two Popes (Fernando Meirelles, 2019): UK, Italy, Argentina, USA

Review by Gabriel Gottardi. Viewed at the 2019 AFI festival.

My lesson has never underestimated a movie. When I bought the tickets I didn’t expect the movie to be anything extraordinary, although explores an actual context I couldn’t see how comedy could play a role in this specific movie. However, I was wrong.
Behind the Vatican walls, the two popes with completely different political backgrounds must find a way to forge a new path for the Catholic Church that has been involved in numerous scandals. The movie directed by Fernando Meirelles created a story that is captivated enough for the audience to be entertained during the whole movie and care for both characters. Anthony Hopkins (Pope Benedict), well known in Hollywood by his experience in acting, did not disappointed in this movie. He made an incredible job exploring Pope Benedict’s conservatism. On the other hand, Jonathan Pryce (Pope Francis) is well known for being part of Game of Thrones, G.I. Joe and Pirates of the Caribbean were responsible to show the liberal part of Francis, who is considered a simple person by his community.
Inspired in true events, the movie shows the Catholic Church facing scandals and self-doubt by its billion followers around the world, which led Pope Benedict to resign his position but not before finding a successor. The only one he knew was up to the job was Francis that had more of contemporary thinking. As the story progress, we get to know more about the characters and what they represent for the world.
Guilt and forgiveness are the two strongest themes of the movie, which are represented in different scenarios. As they get to know each other, they started to get into more deep topics that reveal their weak side, which completely changes the perspective of the audience during the cinematography. The color, costumes, and setting of the movie are unbelievable, portraying the reality of each of the scenarios with vibrant colors.
One of the greatest advantages of watching a movie on a premier day is the chance to listen to the director, producers, and actors. It gives you a different perspective of the movie. I got there with a different opinion about the movie, however, the director gives a brief explanation and opinion of the movie, which completely changed my perspective. The movie explores more the political side of the Vatican than the religious one. In the end, Meirelles left a very impactful message: “Build bridges, not walls”, which I believed has a huge impact on the audience that didn’t expect that powerful message.