❝Confession cleans the sinner's soul; it doesn't help the victim. Our whole church is in need of forgiveness. Where is our humility? Sin is a wound, not a stain. It needs to be treated, healed. Forgiveness is not enough.❞
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The Two Popes offers a fictionalised insight into the relationship between Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and it's surprisingly delightful.
That is to say, the content is incredibly serious and at times, devastating, but it's intercut with great comedic moments, especially from Cardinal Bergoglio and the choice of music at various points in time. The film follows the two popes through a mix of beautiful cinematography and documentary-style camerawork, and the effect is candidly personal (though I definitely did not need the close-up of Anthony Hopkins going to town on pizza).
Speaking of Hopkins, he delivers a very solemn performance as Pope Benedict XVI, and while I certainly don't condone any of the real person's actions, Hopkins is able to seem genuinely remorseful in certain scenes. However, Jonathan Pryce undoubtedly acted everyone out of the room; he absolutely stole the scene and had great chemistry with everybody, and I don't think the film would be the same without him.
Thinking back on it, I would say that within this specific genre of film, Conclave is better than The Two Popes, but I still think this does an excellent job at depicting real events and showing how even people with the strongest faith can be tested.
❝Confession cleans the sinner's soul; it doesn't help the victim. Our whole church is in need of forgiveness. Where is our humility? Sin is a wound, not a stain. It needs to be treated, healed. Forgiveness is not enough.❞
· · ───── ⊹⊱∆⊰⊹ ───── · ·
The Two Popes offers a fictionalised insight into the relationship between Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and it's surprisingly delightful.
That is to say, the content is incredibly serious and at times, devastating, but it's intercut with great comedic moments, especially from Cardinal Bergoglio and the choice of music at various points in time. The film follows the two popes through a mix of beautiful cinematography and documentary-style camerawork, and the effect is candidly personal (though I definitely did not need the close-up of Anthony Hopkins going to town on pizza).
Speaking of Hopkins, he delivers a very solemn performance as Pope Benedict XVI, and while I certainly don't condone any of the real person's actions, Hopkins is able to seem genuinely remorseful in certain scenes. However, Jonathan Pryce undoubtedly acted everyone out of the room; he absolutely stole the scene and had great chemistry with everybody, and I don't think the film would be the same without him.
Thinking back on it, I would say that within this specific genre of film, Conclave is better than The Two Popes, but I still think this does an excellent job at depicting real events and showing how even people with the strongest faith can be tested.
