Netflix
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Screenplay: Anthony McCarten
Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce play Pope Benedict and Pope Francis respectively and with such conviction that I had to remind myself very so often that this is a Netflix movie is written by Anthony McCarten. Make no mistake, it is a good thing as McCarten wrote Bohemian Rhapsody and Darkest Hour. Both are Oscar winning movies that elevated Freddie Mercury into the status deserving of a god and Gary Oldman as a tough but endearing Winston Churchill. Both actors in the said movie won an Oscar too.
I digress. Needless to say, I did enjoy the movie as it is done so well I won't be surprised if it gets several Oscar nods this year.
But what engaged me in the movie is the depiction of man's relationship with God. It is an endless journey of seeking and journeying that in the end, all that matters is faith. Even that is a tenuous thing when, even the strongest among us must choose between principle and the common good. One pope represents change and reforms. The other is a standard bearer of tradition and compromises. Such contradictions exist in the Vatican and permeates to the entire Catholic congregation.
So, we end up with two popes instead of one.
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Rating/Recommendation: Go stream it!
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