A Movie for Conversation 

​“The Two Popes” Is my favorite movie of 2019. Although related to true events, it’s a fictional movie about pope Benedict and pope Francis. The theological issues it raises provoke great conversations.

-- Thomas Jay Oord, Center for Open and Relational Theology

Francis is clearly the process theologian in the movie.

-- Godehard Bruntrup, responding to Thomas Jay Oord

The Miracle

"The miracle is that the audience can empathize with both of them."

-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Their Dichotomy is a Kind of Harmony

​“We are no longer part of this world,” Bergoglio says of the Church. “Change is compromise,” retorts Benedict. “Nothing is static in nature,” replies Bergoglio. “God is unchanging,” says Benedict...They may disagree on nearly everything, but their dichotomy is a kind of harmony.

Their divisions, of course, reflect those nearly everywhere else today, between progress and retreat. And there is considerable comfort in exploring opposite perspectives not through Congressional or Parliamentary rivals but between two kindly old men in a garden. It’s nice to think that such barriers can be broken down amicably — as they are in “The Two Popes” — over pizza and Fanta.

-- Jake Coyle, Associated Press, Film Review, November 26, 2019

Their Dichotomy is a Kind of Harmony
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"They may disagree on nearly everything, but their dichotomy is a kind of harmony."  (Jake Coyle)

​Process Theologies propose that God is a spacious heart in whose life the universe lives and moves and has its being.  God is the living whole, understood not simply as a force but also a life.  We can address God as "He" or "She" and there's Someone listening.

We are never outside this whole gazing at it from afar; we are always already inside this whole.  We sense its presence, not as an antagonistic force in which the world is divided into good and evil, right and wrong, but rather as a horizons of universal compassion in which the dichotomies of our world -- conservatives versus liberals, for example -- are harmonized. 

This harmony may not reconcile the dichotomies  There may remain, forever, the disagreements.  But God's harmony includes them empathically, understanding the wisdom of each side.  And when we find ourselves sensing this inclusion, which transcends our own fervently held points of view, we may well partake of the harmony itself in our own way.  We sense what Whitehead calls the Harmony of Harmonies. 

​We may side with one Pope over the other.  But we love them both.

-- Jay McDaniel

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​The Two Popes

Directed by Fernando Meirelles

Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

​reposted from Spirituality and Practice
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The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church is the most well-known and influential religious leader in the world. When he visits other countries, political dignitaries, governmental officials, and the media all want to meet with him. It has been this way since Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the fourth century.

Within the Catholic Church, the Pope has traditionally been considered to be the infallible supreme authority on matters of doctrine. Some believers have become convinced that there are limits to canonical law, and that even long-established dogmas can be questioned and even changed. The Two Popes brings us portraits of two men on opposite sides of this debate.

Pope Benedict XVI (2005 – 2013), originally from Germany, was known for his conservative theological views and his campaign to rid the church of anyone not following traditional doctrine and practices. Pope Francis (2013 to the present), the first non-European Pope for 1,300 years, has championed progressive views and causes, especially on behalf of the poor.

This is an masterful drama directed by Fernando Merilles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour, Bohemian Rhapsody). At the outset, we learn that this two-hour look at the intense and world-impacting conversations between two Popes is "inspired by true events."

We meet Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) as he is preaching in a poverty-stricken area of Buenos Aires and then catch up with him in Vatican City in 2005 where 115 cardinals have gathered to elect a new Pope after the death of John Paul II. Although the Argentinian has some support among the more liberal cardinals, the enclave chooses Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Anthony Hopkins), who takes the name Pope Benedict XVI. The two churchmen could not be further apart in their theology and personal style.

This becomes very apparent when Bergoglio travels to the Vatican in 2012 to get Pope Benedict's permission to retire. At the Pope's summer home, they walk the gardens and discuss their very different views on the purpose and practice of the Church. Benedict argues that God does not change, and neither should the church. Bergoglio counters that God does change by moving toward us. As they continue to debate, Benedict declares, "I disagree with everything you say." Their discussions continue in Rome, where they meet in the Sistine Chapel.

The Pope cherishes his role as the voice of tradition, whereas Bergoglio reveals himself to be an advocate of social reform and service of the poor. At one point, he declares, "Mercy is not reserved for the virtuous; it is dynamite that tears down walls." To which, Benedict snaps back, "You have an answer for everything. You are too clever."

The two are also world's apart in their personalities. Benedict spends a lot of time alone, even eating by himself at every meal. Bergoglio is humble and outgoing, riding in front with his driver, carrying his own luggage, befriending the gardener and one of the Vatican guards, and even going out to a bar to watch a soccer game. Still, convinced that if Bergoglio were to retire, it would be seen as a protest, Benedict refuses to agree to his request.
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What becomes clear from their fascinating dialogue is that both men feel they are in need of the forgiveness of people and the mercy of God. Bergoglio is haunted by his years as the head of the Jesuits in Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s when he was not able to protect his priests from the military junta; two close friends were arrested and tortured, and one never forgave him.

Benedict talks about his own dark night of the soul, aware that he is not liked and perceived very differently than Bergoglio. At one point, he says, "This popularity of yours – is there a trick to it?" He confesses that he is having a hard time hearing God's voice and is full of doubts. He surprises Bergoglio by announcing that he will resign from the papacy. The film then goes on to cover Bergoglio's selection as the next pope; he takes the name Francis.

Pryce and Hopkins truly inhabit these roles, creating convincing multifaceted portraits of the two very different men. The miracle is that the audience can empathize with both of them. Without losing respect for the holy roles the Pope must play, the director focuses on their humanity. We see them open up to each other and share little pleasures of life, even trading jokes (Bergoglio's is funnier than Benedict's). Pope Benedict plays the piano for his guest and talks about his favorite television program about a mystery-solving German Shepherd dog. Pope Francis loves the music of Abba and the Beatles, and he's a huge soccer fan. Best of all, he's still dancing. The scene of him teaching Benedict to tango will have you smiling from ear to ear!

​-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

​Excerpts from Other Reviews

Humor and a Shared Need for Forgiveness

Fortunately and to the delight of the audience, the characters watch a football game together, talk about the Beatles and Abba, eat pizza and dance tango. And in a memorable scene, Bergoglio shows his sense of humor to tell a joke to Ratzinger, a man who admits that "German jokes don't have to be funny."

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At a key moment, the two confess their repentance over the involuntary Nazi past of one and the possible collaborationist past with the Argentine military dictatorship of the other.

Jonathan Pryce declared “if I had to tell you what the theme of the movie was, I would tell you what forgiveness is. It is about two elders, a pope and a cardinal, confessing and asking for forgiveness. ” And I would only add that the extraordinary thing about the film is the humanity of this uneven couple, and the wonderful portrait of two characters that converge in one central point: maintaining the unity of their church.

--  Sergio Muñoz Bata, December 23, 2019, Letras Libres
 

Opposing View: A Fantasy Built on Lies

​"The Two Popes is a feel-good tale about how an archconservative mired in outdated ways of thinking  (Benedict) can find common ground with the Church’s equivalent of a hippie: Bergoglio is a romantic, sensitive soul, a man of the people who tangos and loves ABBA and football and represents progressive values and the inclusive, loving future of the Church. Benedict passes the mitre to Bergoglio because he realizes his time has passed.
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In other words, liberals and conservatives can find common ground, if the conservatives would just agree to surrender the field of ideas to the liberals and step out of the way. No doubt there are some conservatives who think everything would be fine if liberals would simply admit that they’re wrong and agree to shut up forever. But if you made a movie about that, it would rightly be derided as sheer fantasy. The Two Popes is fantasy built on lies."

​-- Kyle Smith, The Lies of The Two Popes, Dec. 23, 2019, National Review

Official Trailer, Teaser, and Interviews
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