Karol: A Man Who Became Pope (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

Referenced in Och, Karol 2 (2011)

User Reviews

correction to "timgui"

Obviously, "timgui," you know little--if anything--about Polish history, especially during World War II. Six million Poles (half Gentile, half Jewish) died in the Holocaust. This is because the Slavs were also on the Nazis' list. Poland had the largest--and longest enduring underground in Europe. They had the only organization--"Zegota""--created to save Jews. More Poles saved more Jews than any any other country (even though only in Poland was aiding a Jew punishable by death--often for the whole family, or the whole village--NOT a necessary law if Poland was so anti-Semitic as you would have us believe). There are thousands of stories of Poles trying to save Jews. I have heard none of Jews trying to save Poles. As a matter of fact, many Jews were responsible for the deportation (and subsequent death of half) of millions of Poles, sent to Siberia by their Soviet comrades (who were Hitler's allies at the time). And I don't know where you got your rosy view of the Communists!! Stalin killed millions more than Hitler--and mostly of HIS OWN people (in one year alone he starved 7-14 million people--mostly Ukrainians--while he was exporting food for cash)!! You have no idea how ruthless they've been. Get your facts straight before you spout off!!