We Have a Pope

By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Nanni Moretti
Starring: Camillo Milli | Franco Graziosi | Jerzy Stuhr | Michel Piccoli | Renato Scarpa | Roberto Nobile

Original language title: Habemus Papam

Country: france, italy

Year: 2012

Running time: 102

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1456472/

Bruce says: “***SPOILERS***

“During the first third to one half of WE HAVE A POPE in scene after scene the production design is impeccable and the script, tight. Nanni Moretti is a seasoned filmmaker who won Best Director in Cannes in 1994 for his autobiographical comedic romp CARO DIARIO and the Palme d’Or in 2002 for the heartbreaking THE SON’S ROOM, both of which also credit him with scriptwriting. It is inconceivable that he could lose his way mid-film with weaknesses in both the script and editing.

“The crowds outside the Vatican eagerly await the white smoke which will tell them a new pope has been elected. What they see, however, is black smoke. Behind the gates we are privy to the mechanisms of the election. Balloting is political; posturing is an integral part of the process. There is a three way tie: Cardinal Gregori (Renato Scarpa), who is the 3-1 favorite according to the pundits; a Cardinal from Africa; and a Cardinal from South America.

“The second ballot produces the surprise winner, 90-1 longshot Cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli). It seems all the Cardinals who decided to pick a man who had no chance, chose the same man. White smoke appears and the crowds cheer. Cardinal Melville is stunned. Instead of offering the traditional blessing on the balcony, he retreats into the bowels of the Vatican after screaming, ‘I can’t do this.’ His collar is too tight. He is short of breath.

“While important decisions are being made and tensions build, an amusing eye gives us glimpses of how the ensconced Cardinals are wiling away the time. They work out, play solitaire, work on jigsaw puzzles, smoke and take their medicines. The spokesman for the Vatican (Jerzy Stuhr) is burdened with damage control and correcting the problem, whatever it may be. The Cardinals are in favor of hiring a renowned psychotherapist (Nanni Moretti) but the situation is made worse when the Cardinals choose to observe the therapy session. The therapist cannot get the Pope to open up to any of the many topics – the triggering of memories, dreams, sex, or childhood. ‘God sees abilities in me that I don’t have,’ declares the Pope. The therapist mentions to the spokesman that his estranged wife (Margherita Buy) is the second best psychotherapist in Italy despite the fact that she is obsessed with the concept of parental deficit. The spokesman develops a plan to disguise the Pope and smuggle him out of the Vatican to see her in her office.

“Suddenly the Vatican security forces lose sight of the Pope. Once the Pope escapes the confines of his prison, he becomes relaxed and more open. So does the film. Up to this point we have followed the action on a step by step basis. The resulting change in style is jarring and confusing to the viewer. All details, captured with such care, are thrown to the wind. The Pope escapes and checks himself into a small hotel. Suddenly he appears in scenes with no explanation of how he got there. He gets involved with an acting troupe; he appears at the home of the woman who has become his new therapist. The sessions with her offer less clarity. Yes, she does zero in on parental deficit. But what lies closer to the truth emerges during a dinner with some of the theatrical performers. The Pope relates how his sister and he wanted to become actors so they auditioned together. She was accepted; he failed.

“Meanwhile back at the Vatican the administration has made one of the staff a body double. The mannequin appears at various windows of the Pope’s apartments in silhouette, living proof that the Pope is in residence but too ill to appear in other parts of the Vatican, much less before the public. It’s simultaneously very funny and completely believable. For a few moments it seems that the film might be returning to form. Alas, that never happens.  3 cats”

 

Jason says:  “While many films lack even one original, interesting idea, HABEMUS PAPAM has at least two at its heart.  Quite possibly three, and maybe even four if you’re feeling very generous.  Nanni Moretti gets fairly far by sharing his curiosity about the papal election process and what might happen if it hit a snag with the audience; he just seems to wind up adrift when it comes time to make a real story out of it.

“The process of the Catholic Church selecting a new pope is shrouded in mystery; the college of cardinals not only sequesters themselves, but burns all records of their voting and all notes kept during the deliberations.  The faithful (and press) massed outside the Vatican have an idea of who is likely to be chosen, and very few expect it to be Cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli), who has more humility than ambition.  It is him, though, and just as the smoke changes color and ‘habemus papam’ is announced from the traditional balcony, the new leader has a panic attack and refuses to address his flock.  The church finds itself at an impasse, with the layman administrator (Jerzy Stuhr) bringing in a noted professor of psychiatry (Nanni Moretti) before trying more desperate measures.

“To give it its due, it starts out with the right actor in the right part – Michel Piccoli is the perfect man to play Father Melville. At first, he certainly looks like just another old man in a room full of old men, but a closer look shows an almost youthfully open heart and lack of guile.  Melville must be utterly deserving but also terrified at the responsibility he’s been entrusted with.  Piccoli
is able to sell the cardinal as somebody that anyone can approach and trust but also seemingly out of place in every situation he’s placed into.  That paradox is at the heart of the character and the movie – the things that make Melville the person one would want as Pope also make him terrified of the job – and Piccoli embodies the role wonderfully.

“I’m not sure whether HABEMUS PAPAM is built with non-Catholics in mind or if that’s a part of the audience isn’t an important consideration for the filmmaker.  It is, after all, an Italian movie about the Catholic Church, and satiric commentary on that organization’s inner workings is most likely addressed to its members.  Still, the Church’s influence is vast enough to matter to non-believers, and even if it were fictional, considering the dynamics of how a large, singular organization with a unique structure works could be just as fascinating.  The issues Moretti brings up – how does the secretive process of choosing a new pope work, and what happens when someone whose job is to be a decisive leader (‘infallible’, even) is paralyzed by fear – are great ones to dig into.

“Early on, Moretti does an excellent job of nailing the satirical possibilities of the situation while also demonstrating respect for Melville’s faith and how that puts him in crisis.  There are some extremely funny scenes – for instance, the professor trying to psychoanalyze Melville with dozens of cardinals watching and forbidding discussion of certain topics – among those that have the ring of truth even with their strangeness.  The finale picks up on the conflict between personal doubts and institutional certainty in a way that demands further exploration.

“In between, though, he loses his way badly.  The situation within the Vatican goes from absurd but incisive to just silly and tiresome, while Melville’s personal odyssey seems clear enough in intention without really having the interesting detail and big moments to give it weight.  As much as detail is usually a good thing in a movie, the latter half relies on specific references and inside knowledge too much.  Moretti winds up trying to wrangle an excessively large cast of characters and only taking tentative steps in the direction of what having the papacy in limbo means to the faithful.  He’s created a situation that offers many angles for both examination and comedy, but restricted himself to some of the most limited.

“It’s a shame that the screenplay by Moretti and two others winds up going so far afield, because it’s the only real weakness in the film:  The production is handsome, evoking the regal beauty of the Vatican splendidly despite it seeming very unlikely that Vatican City would give permission to film there.  The (large) supporting cast is quite good all around, and when Moretti hits a good bit, he generally nails it.

“Note: The version being distributed by ‘Sundance Selects’ in the USA may be somewhat compromised; the host of this screening mentioned that at least one scene – the other cardinals conspiring to stick Melville with the job – was in the version that screened at Cannes but is missing here.  Even with what would seem to be a crucial point restored, though, the movie would still have its problems.  The second half of this just can’t find its way back to what makes the first so intriguing, and a potentially intriguing finale winds up a tease for what could have been a funny and fascinating movie.  3 cats

“Seen 4 March 2012 in Coolidge Corner Theatre #2 (Talk Cinema, 35mm)”

 

Diane says:  “Veering between comic and serious, WE HAVE A POPE is ultimately dissatisfying and puzzling. The newly elected pontiff, played superbly by Michel Piccoli, is victim to something between a panic attack and an existential crisis. Director Nanni Moretti plays a wacky psychoanalyst brought in to help. While the new pope wanders Rome disguised as a civilian, the cardinals, still cloistered, engage in a volleyball tournament with childlike glee and gusto.

“There is much sweetness and brotherly love among the cardinals, more like the brothers of OF GODS AND MEN than I imagine is really the case in the Vatican’s nest of politics.

“I’ll give this a nom for Production design. The sets are stand-ins for Vatican rooms (including a reconstructed Sistine Chapel). The brilliant costumes of the clerics make for stunning shots, and the weighty pomp of this often hidden world shows in the details. The shot of the cardinal and two guards exiting the papal balcony, walking slowly backwards in gross embarrassment, is a killer. 3 cats”