Karol, un uomo diventato Papa (2005)

The life of the pope John-Paul II, from his youth as a writer, actor, and athlete in war-torn occupied Poland to his election as Pope at the age of 58.

Director:

Giacomo Battiato

Writers:

Giacomo Battiato (screenplay), Gianfranco Svidercoschi (book)

Stars:

Piotr Adamczyk, Malgorzata Bela, Ken Duken

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Piotr Adamczyk	...	Karol Wojtyla
Malgorzata Bela	...	Hanna Tuszynska
Ken Duken	...	Adam Zielinski
Hristo Shopov	...	Julian Kordek
Ennio Fantastichini	...	Maciej Nowak
Violante Placido	...	Maria Pomorska
Matt Craven	...	Hans Frank
Olgierd Lukaszewicz	...	Karol Wojtyla senior - Karol's father
Lech Mackiewicz	...	Stefan Wyszynski
Radoslaw Pazura	...	Pawel Kowalski
Grazyna Szapolowska	...	Brigitte Frank
Kenneth Welsh	...	Professor Wójcik
Raoul Bova	...	Tomasz Zaleski
Szymon Bobrowski	...	Captain Macke
Mateusz Damiecki	...	Wiktor Milosz

Storyline

The life of the pope John-Paul II, from his youth as a writer, actor, and athlete in war-torn occupied Poland to his election as Pope at the age of 58.

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Plot Keywords:

pope | propaganda | cleric | clergyman | roman catholic church | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Faith Streams

Country:

Poland Italy

Language:

English Italian Polish

Release Date:

15 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Karol: A Man Who Became Pope

Filming Locations:

Dobczyce, Malopolskie, Poland

Box Office

Budget:

€10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Taodue Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min (theatrical) 180 min (2 parts) (TV) 240 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Paul's life and papacy has been compared to that of the fictional pope in the novel "The Shoes of the Fisherman" by Morris West. Both men were from a Slavic nation, Ukraine in the book, Poland in real life. Both were among the younger cardinals. Both were elected after a deadlock over two Italian cardinals. The election of both was a shock to the world. Both were the first Slavic pope. Both the first non-Italian pope in 500 years. Both preached the message "Don't be afraid". John Paul's birth name Was 'Karol'. The Pope in the book was named 'Kiril'. The book was published in 1963, 15 years before John Paul's election.

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Quotes

Professor Wójcik: You pay for freedom with your whole being, that is why you will call freedom that which while paying for it helps you to know and control yourself over and over.

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Connections

Followed by Karol - The Pope, the Man (2006)

User Reviews

Fascinating recounting of the early life (1939-78 period) of Karol Wojtyla

The film concerns about the majestic figure , the Polish Pope Karol Wojtyla (Piotr Adamczyk ) brought to the life at much expense and with sense and thought since his youth in Poland , the early years , until his appointment as Pope of the Catholic church in Rome (1978). The movie starts on October 12 , 1939 when the evil men Nazis get taken the world , Nazis have invaded Poland , they've destroyed the Polish air forcé , 500 plane pulverised before they could take off , bombed cities , radio station , Churchs... Meanwhile Karol looks after his father but he wants to join the Army . They flee but the Russians have invaded the border . Hitler and Stalin made a pact , the Red army has betrayed to Poland and now they don't take prisoners . Hitler appointed Hans Frank (excellently played by Matt Craven) chief civilian officer for occupied Polish territory and then Governor-General of occupied Poland . Hans Frank described his policy in this post : ¨Poland shall be treated like a colony : the Poles will become the slaves of the Greater German Empire¨ . He destroyed Poland as a national entity and exploited its human and material resources for the German war effort . Frank ran Poland in imitation of the Nazi state . He ordered the killing of Polish Intelligence (represented by the professor played by Kenneth Welsh) and Military officials in an attack of destruction and hatred against the Polish universities and the Catholic Church . Frank warned that Jews and Poles could be sentenced to death for any act of force against the German or for damage to a public installation , he confiscated Jewish and Polish property , he expropriated valuable paintings for his own house and he allowed huge quantities of food to be smuggled from Poland to Germany . At a time when most Europe was hungry , Frank set an elaborate table at the Governor's palace in Cracow (as happens in the film when is invited the priest well played by Raoul Bova) . By December 1942 more than 95 percent of the Jews in Poland had been transported to extermination camps . The future Pope must confront these adversities and misfortunes , he suffers cruel experiences but the God's faith and the love is the cure for the badness . Then he assisted the holiness call and goes into the seminar and as priest he serves his first mass . After that , he's appointed bishop and Cardinal and continuing consoling the mankind , renovating the moral sense and thoughts ,giving hope and fighting for human rights . Later on , he was elected Pope , the first no Italian from 1523.

The film captures splendidly the goodness and generosity of the immortal Pope well played by Piotr Adamczyk . When John Paul II returned to Poland for the first time after his election seven year old Adamczyk was in the crowd . It's followed by a sequel (2006) by similar actors and director , dealt with his fruitful pontiff (1978-2005) and the pastoral journeys he made to America , Mexico and many other countries , making an intense diplomatic labour and problems that were taking place in the Catholic church , including the 1981 attack by Ali Agca . The motion picture was magnificently played by an excellent plethora of actors . Special mention to touching , evocative musical score by the classic Ennio Morricone . The picture was finely directed by Giacomo Battiato , a specialist on accurate biopic , as he directed autobiography stories about Giovane Casanova , Benvenuto Cellini and Stradivari.