Best movie of this year hands down!

Boring

Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The description of the movie is wrongly understood. This movie is definitely NOT about the relationship of Pope and his therapist. The failed therapist has and episodic side-role. The movie is about a Bishop who cannot take the burden of responsibility and attention that falls upon him. How he struggles and how he finds courage to solve the situation. There is no relationship between a Pope and therapist who have a 10 sentence conversation. Even the other therapist - therapists wife does not have any major impact or role in the movie whatsoever. Okay she kind of connects with the Pope but has more of a satirical role considering the outcome and storyline. Misleading is this introduction. Please change it.

A few days ago, I watched Prometheus, and found it such a revolting stupid waste of time, that I created my account here only to warn anyone from committing the same mistake; Now, unhappily, I have to add this HABEMUS PAPAM to the "what-a-waste-of-time-and-money" list...Just like Prometheus, what starts out as a very well made film, with impressively credible imagery, costumes, ambiance etc., and generates very high expectations, COMPLETELY loses track, and becomes an utterly meaningless and pointless waste of time, with an INCREDIBLY bad ending.When the movie begins, we see the election of the new pope, almost unanimous...a man with a gentle and humble face, and we expect he will lead the church into a glorious new path of renovation...but then, as he is being announced to the crowd, he screams and runs off to his chambers saying he just "can't do it". Would he had killed himself, or thrown himself off the balcony, it would have been far better for us viewers...With this unrealistic but interesting premise, we are enticed into expecting "what an interesting situation, let's see the pope as a normal man", the movie then shows the church calling in a psychologist to help him out of his crisis...the 1st encounter is comical, with the shrink and the Pope surrounded by cardinals...At this point, still anticipating a good story, our expectations change, added by the anticipation of comedy, of funny situations, something akin to "King Ralph"...but then, then...the movie DIES. The plot simply STOPS. For the next hour and 20 minutes, we see the pope running off into the streets, mumbling to himself, as lost as the storyline...NO deep insights, NO FUN whatsoever, NOT ONE interesting or deeper dialogue, he just hangs around a group of actors, one of whom is insane (a feeble and witless attempt at showing catholicism as a fraud?) so completely lost as to border insane. To think this sorry excuse of a mature man might have been a cardinal is simply unbelievable.Oh yes, and all the while back in the Vatican, the shrink is doing...NOTHING. He plays cards and - VOLLEYBALL(!!!) with the old cardinals. He DOES NOT meet the pope again, don't be fooled by some "plot summaries" around.In the end, as lost and whiney as before, not one iota the wiser, the pope returns, and gives his 1st speech to the crowd: "I'm not the right person, sorry everybody, I'm not up to it." And walks away back into the room. THE END. WTF??? He does NOTHING a normal man would - he does not resign, he does not appoint a successor, he does not warn the cardinals he wants to resign, he simply punches the whole of Christendom in the face with a "I'm sorry" whimper. And the college of Cardinals, portrayed as a bunch of mindless aging old men fit for a nursery home, lets him go through to the end. The leaders of a 2000 year old organization act like a collective bad case of Alzheimer's...I'd rather they'd poisoned him the night before and chosen another cardinal than watching that absolutely implausible "plot".A COMPLETE waste of time, money, scenery, everything...and between Prometheus and this one, I've wasted quite a lot of my time and patience as well.Learn from my mistakes, keep away from these dumps, and please wish me luck, I'm trying to find a good movie to recommend, but it's not being easy lately.

This film has had a very diverse range of reviews, and this is probably because its full appreciation requires a finger on the pulse of the Catholic world. Moretti makes a statement about the current state of the Church, which behind its omnipotent facade seems to be unable to truly face the challenges of remaining relevant to its followers. Rather than set up an intricate political plot of intrigue and betrayal, Moretti chooses to represent this powerlessness through a single person, an unassuming cardinal who feels unable to take on the responsibility. At the same time, though, he reveals that the state of unease is widespread among the cardinals, who dread the thought of having to take on this leadership, as much as the thought of losing their leader. A banal way forward would have been for the cardinals to turn against each other, or against the Pope; instead, here they find relief in reverting to games and simple everyday activities, as if the isolation inside the Vatican walls is lifting an unbearable oppression from them, as they can do normal things as normal people do. The film has several imperfections, and one feels sometimes the story gets somewhat contorted, especially when the new Pope rekindles his old love for the theatre. Still, it is a visually attractive film, sensitively scripted and well acted. This is a surprisingly sympathetic film made by a non-believer who is often critical of the Church. Moretti is appreciative of the magnitude of the problem faced by the church, but most of all one has the impression that he cares deeply about the people involved: those on the balcony, those behind the curtains and especially those down below, in the square.

***this review may contain spoilers*** The other reviewers, in my opinion, focus too much on the minutiae of this story. I must admit my first reaction to the film is that it lacked coherence and punch. However, in the middle of the night, awakening with my own "road to Damascus" (as one reviewer said)regarding this film, I realized that the story elements served to make the statement that the authority and credibility of the Catholic Church in the 21st century is about to undergo a complete transformation, if not collapse. With all the sexual abuse scandals worldwide, the lack of appropriate consequences for the bishops and cardinals who protected those offending priests (see Cardinal Bernard Law, who was given an important position in Rome, after leaving Boston in disgrace), and the appalling treatment of and attitudes towards women all point to an institution that can only survive as long as a belief in the concept that the pope is "god's representative on earth" prevails. Within the context of this film we see that the newly elected pope is just a human being like any of us, and maybe only men, not god, have chosen him to lead. When the infallibility of the pope is called into question, then the whole thing begins to unravel. This belief in the pope's infallibility is what the authority of the Catholic Church rests upon. If he's just another guy, does he have the moral authority to make pronouncements about gay marriage, women as priests, celibacy of priests, birth control, and so many other controversial issues. At the end of the film, when Melville finally leaves, the cardinals are completely aghast, showing absolute shock in their reactions, covering their mouths in horror, realizing that their world is about to drastically change. It is no longer "business as usual." I think Moretti knew that this is exactly the message he was unleashing with this film. And to him, I say Bravo!! By the way, I was raised Catholic, have a sister who is a nun, and I attended a Jesuit university, until I was told upon entering a pre-law class on the first day of school that "all you women -- you go to the back of the room. You get a C for the term." There are many, many good people who follow the Catholic faith. But I am referring to the male hierarchy which, since the beginnings of the church, have used all kinds of means to grasp and stay in power. This film takes a little of that power away from them.