Saturday, November 19, 2011

Papal Screen Test


The church gets portrayed unevenly on the screen. Movies about the church run risks of error, exaggeration and caricature in varying degrees and combinations. The movie, “We Have a Pope,” was featured at this year’s London Film Festival (a brief history of the festival, with awarded films).
Ged Clapson saw it and reviewed for the Jesuit e-zine, Thinking Faith.
We Have A Pope is sympathetic and in many ways spectacular. The sets are awesome: it really is difficult to spot where the real Vatican ends and the studios begin! Moretti is a self-confessed atheist, which makes the warmth with which he regards the papacy quite amazing. It is not hard to imagine a Catholic writer or director doing something similar with much less sympathy and verve. Is it a great film? No, it is not. But it is a very kind film, an interesting film – indeed, a powerful film.
Not a “great movie,” and it has “caricatures.” Yet this review suggests it is a “kind...interesting...powerful” window on us all. Mr. Clapson’s review contains a trailer.

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