Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 28 November 2019
In 'The Two Popes,' a

buddy movie in vestments

By JAKE COYLE a reformer, an Argentine, other representations, too.
Believers of all religions can an avid soccer watcher But it's the lively, stimulating
agree on one thing: the and, gasp, an ABBA listen- interplay between Pryce
Vatican is an unlikely place er. When they meet at the (radiant) and Hopkins (ex-
for a bromance. papal summer retreat, their quisitely crafty) that gives
The novelty of Fernando conversation quickly turns "The Two Popes" its forward
Meirelles' "The Two Popes" is into a theological volley on movement, propelling the
right there in its title. There matters of sacrament, ho- film less by intellectual de-
This image released by Netflix shows Jonathan Pryce as Cardi- has only been one leader mosexuality and footwear. bate than by the thrall of
nal Bergoglio, right, and Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict in a of the Roman Catholic "We are no longer part of an unfolding friendship.
scene from "The Two Popes." Church going back centu- this world," Bergoglio says As their conversation con-
Associated Press ries except in trying times of, of the Church. "Change is tinues in the Sistine Cha-
you know, schism. But Mei- compromise," retorts Bene- pel (recreated at Italy's
relles' film, from a script by dict. "Nothing is static in Cinecitta Studios), "The Two
Anthony McCarten ("Dark- nature," replies Bergoglio. Popes" turns into a movie
est Hour," "The Theory of Ev- "God is unchanging," says not about a power strug-
erything") concerns a real Benedict. gle, at all, but a grappling
moment in recent history Meirelles, the Brazilian film- of faith. Benedict and Ber-
during an unusual Vatican maker of "City of God" and goglio dispense with their
transition. In 2013, Pope "The Constant Gardner," divisions and turn inward
Benedict XVI, formerly captures their first meeting in self-reflection, reveal-
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger while walking the estate's ing their own wresting with
(played by Anthony Hop- grounds with amplified bird doubt, fallibility and faith.
kins in the film), resigned song all around them. They This section of soul search-
from the papacy, the first may disagree on nearly ev- ing includes a lengthy
to do so since the 15th cen- erything, but their dichoto- flashback to Bergoglio's
tury. "The Two Popes" takes my is a kind of harmony. potentially complicit inac-
place just before this mo- Their divisions, of course, tion during the junta rule of
mentous decision, as Pope reflect those nearly every- late '70s, early '80s Argen-
Benedict is mulling it over. where else today, between tina. The look backward
In the film, he summons progress and retreat. And adds greater dimension to
the Argentinian Cardinal there is considerable com- Bergoglio's character, but it
Jorge Bergoglio (Jonathan fort in exploring opposite hampers the film's locked-
Pryce), his eventual suc- perspectives not through in double act. Benedict's
cessor as Pope Francis, Congressional or Parlia- reflections — including an
from Buenos Aires to Rome mentary rivals but between achingly tender confes-
for a tête-à-tête, or, if you two kindly old men in a gar- sion he gives to Bergoglio
will, a pope-à-pope. den. It's nice to think that — come without flashback
The whole scenario is a such barriers can be bro- and are all the more pow-
work of imagination. There ken down amicably — as erful because of it.
are few institutions with they are in "The Two Popes" "The Two Popes" might pro-
more private innerworkings — over pizza and Fanta. mulgate an optimistic por-
than the Vatican. Usually, For that to happen, "The trait of the Catholic Church
we get little more than a Two Popes" pushes some and its leaders. But in these
puff of white smoke. "The darker concerns to the side sweetly sincere scenes, you
Two Popes" aims to go not while magnifying others. forget Benedict and Bergo-
just inside the Church but Sexual abuse among the glio are pontiff and pontiff-
imagine a deep dialogue clergy is briefly discussed to-be. And the moment of
between the two pontiffs. before it largely recedes, respite from the world's ar-
"The Two Popes" is a fantasy though you could argue guments and divisions feels
of impossible intimacy. the subject hovers just be- like a benediction.
It's also a riveting two- neath their talks as the un- "The Two Popes," a Netflix
hander paced by two fab- spoken impetus for Bene- release, is rated PG-13 by
ulous actors in ping-pong- dict's retirement. the Motion Picture Asso-
ing conversation. They are Who's side we should be ciation of America for the-
opposites: Pope Benedict is on is never in doubt. All of matic content and some
a conservative, a German the life force is with Bergo- disturbing violent images.
and a loner who eats din- glio, an almost saintly figure Running time: 126 minutes.
ner in solitude. Bergoglio is in the film, as he is in many Three stars out of four.q