Title: Habemus Papam (We have a Pope)
Year: 2011
Genre: Drama
Director: Nanni Moretti
Writer: Nanni Moretti, Francesco Piccolo, Federica Pontremoli
Runtime: 102min
Cast: Michel Piccoli, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa, Franco Graziosi, Camillo Milli, Roberto Nobile, Ulrich von Dobschutz, Gianluca Gobbi, Nanni Moretti.
Produc.: Sacher Film, Fandango, Le Pacte, France 3 Cinéma, Rai Cinema, Canal+, Coficup, Backup Films, Eurimages
Budget: $8 million approx.
We have a Pope tells how, after the death of a pope, bishops, archbishops and cardinals from around the world must come together to, by secret ballot, elect a successor. Thus, after much anxiety and uncertainty, the name chosen, Melville, is made known among voters. However, when it comes to the new Pope to greet his faithful, it has a nervous breakdown and is unable to appear before the crowd.
This is one of those movies that have given me great pleasure to meet, since I had never seen anyone deal with such a concept in such an elegant and mischievous way.
For anyone who has seen the British film The King's Speech, I do not pretend to tell you not see this movie, but I can tell you that both contain one or another element in common. In Tom Hooper´s flick, the English king is unable to give a speech because of its unbearable stuttering. The in Nanni Moretti´s movie, the new pope is unable to greet his fans because of his nervousness and insecurity. The poor do not know if he´s got what it takes to be the representative of the all-might among mortals.
Also, this film shares with the other, the fact that its main protagonists has to travel on a journey of self discovery to understand himself and to know what he is made of, before daring to speak to a wide audience.
That said it should be clear that, however, the differences between these two European films highlight to the eye, and while both are dramas, We have a Pope contains a high dose of humor. This, something that immediately leads us to think of one of his characters (the psychoanalyst), co-screenwriter and director of the picture, Mr. Nanni Moretti, already known in his country for having certain attributes of a comedian. We can mention some specific cases, for example, the opening scene of the election, in which a voter attempts to ferret his seatmate´s choice. Later, it can be highlighted the volleyball championship scene between countries, which the psychoanalyst organizes for the amusement of the waiting in the Vatican. And yet in another one, one of the moments, I would say, most notable of the film, is when the fake pop plays the song "cambia, todo cambia" by Mercedes Sosa, from the room of the maximum pontiff.
It is also important not to make mistakes in pointing out what kind of movie we're talking about. We are facing a Pope who, soon as he sees the opportunity, he disappears behind a bus and gets lost in the crowd, for the man who is in charge of his care cannot follow him anywhere. Because Melville is at the moment confused, and the last thing he needs is that the church peers pressure upon him, telling him how to act. That is why Melville thinks that the best must be to be out of this world of men in robes and give space for reflection, but from the position of being one among the many thousands of ordinary citizens.
Something positive in We have a Pope is the choice of the director to tell his story from a point of view one hundred percent and purely human, without getting into religious aspects, with the exception of a few jokes. What happens is that this film is not intended to tell us what to believe, but show us things from the perspective of common people, whose problems could be easily identified.
My rating: 7/10
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