by NEVIL GIBSON
The secular entertainment industry has a paradoxical view of the Vatican, the pope and the Church in general.
On one side it has long exploited religion and the faith of billions in popular films that go back to the industry’s origins. At their best these are uplifting and enlightening. Indeed, in 1995 to mark the cinema’s 100th anniversary, the Vatican drew up a list of the 100 best films of interest to Catholics. This column has singled out the 2010 French production Of Gods and Men as an outstanding film about the faith.
On the other hand, Hollywood and European producers have also depicted the Vatican as an all-powerful, and even insidious, organisation that is accountable to no one but itself.
Two films based on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy were scrapped after the first, The Golden Compass, failed at the box office. It depicted a secretive and cruel body called the Magisterium, although the film lacked the book’s parallels with the Church.
One of the biggest selling thrillers of recent years, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, was a mish-mash of earlier books that have highlighted conspiracies surrounding the Vatican and, in particular, Opus Dei.
A Hollywood adaptation of The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) was prescient about the election of a pope from Eastern Europe. Which brings us to Habemus Papam (Transmission Films), translated as “We Have a Pope” and showing in the Italian Film Festival.
The complexity of the Vatican’s role in Italian society has been described this way by The Guardian’s Rome correspondent, Massimo Franco:
“So far the Catholic Church has proved to be part of the Italian crisis. Its valuable and strong defence of national unity and its tireless calls to restore moral values don’t suffice to reverse this impression.”
It must be emphasised that Habemus Papam is a fictional film, much like The Shoes of the Fisherman, and depicts the conclave that followed Pope John Paul II’s death in 2005. Actual scenes from the funeral, with all its pomp and media interest, are faithfully presented. But the story departs into the writers’ imagination once a reluctant and overwhelmed pontiff is chosen (played by 85-year-old French actor Michel Piccoli). He succumbs to a panic attack and deep depression about whether he can fulfil the confidence placed in him by his fellow cardinals.
A psychotherapist, played by co-writer and director Nanni Moretti, is called in to help him face his new responsibilities and be proclaimed to the tens of thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square, not to mention the world media.
The drama builds as the outside world knows a choice has been made but, due to the secrecy of the conclave, not why the new pope has failed to appear. The story then diverges into parallel stories of the cardinals waiting for the conclave to end and the new pontiff eluding his closest advisers to wander the streets of Rome.
Both sides of the tale are told with gentle humour and respect for those involved. This is surprising, given Moretti’s merciless parody of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in The Caiman (2006). However, The Son’s Room (2001 and available on DVD), is a superb study of a couple’s loss when their teenage boy is killed in an accident.
Habemus Papam has been popular in Italy, where the Vatican may be viewed in the less respectful manner of familiarity than elsewhere.
I recommend the film for its depiction of the inner workings of the Vatican and the Roman settings. The farcical treatment of the College of Cardinals is an unnecessary distraction.
Mature audiences; 102 minutes.