The Two Popes (2019)

Behind Vatican walls, the conservative Pope Benedict XVI and the liberal future Pope Francis must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.

Director:

Fernando Meirelles

Writer:

Anthony McCarten

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce, Juan Minujín

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 49 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict
Jonathan Pryce	...	Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio / Pope Francis
Juan Minujín	...	Younger Jorge Bergoglio
Luis Gnecco	...	Cardinal Hummes
Cristina Banegas	...	Lisabetta
María Ucedo	...	Esther Ballestrino
Renato Scarpa	...	Camerlengo
Sidney Cole	...	Cardinal Turkson
Achille Brugnini	...	Cardinal Martini
Federico Torre	...	Protodeacon Estevez
Germán de Silva	...	Father Yorio
Lisandro Fiks	...	Father Jalics
Libero De Rienzo	...	Roberto
Willie Jonah	...	Cardinal Arinze
Sofia Cessak	...	Amalia Damonte (as Sofia Mayra Cessak)

Storyline

An intimate story of one of the most dramatic transitions of power in the last 2,000 years. Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins). Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress, guilt and forgiveness, as these two very different men confront their pasts in order to find common ground and forge a future for a billion followers around the world. Inspired by true events.

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Plot Keywords:

pope | cardinal the priest | priest | catholic church | catholic priest | 

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Taglines:

Inspired by true events.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic content and some disturbing violent images.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Netflix

Country:

UK Italy

Language:

English Spanish Italian Latin Portuguese French German

Release Date:

20 December 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Two Popes

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$243,711

Company Credits

Production Co:

Netflix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Premiered at the 2019 Telluride Film Festival in August. It then enjoyed a brief theatrical window before arriving on Netflix in December.

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Goofs

The movie implies that Bergoglio cooperated with the Argentinian junta and betrayed his fellow Jesuits and Argentinians. The opposite is true. The two shown Jesuits priests Jálics and Yorio are real people. They survived the junta thanks to Bergoglio who relentlessly begged the authorities for their release from prison. There also countless other witnesses who survived the junta in Argentina because of Bergoglio. Many of them thank Bergoglio in the book "Francis. The real story of his life" written by Agnieszka Gracz and Adam Sosnowski.

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Quotes

Pope Francis: We have spent these last years disciplining anyone who disagrees with our line on divorce, on birth control, on being gay. While our planet was being destroyed, while inequality grew like a cancer. We worried whether it was alright to speak the Mass in Latin, whether girls should be allowed to be altar servers. We built walls around us, and all the time, all the time, the real danger was inside. Inside with us.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, the title characters watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup final.

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Connections

Referenced in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies You'll See at the Oscars in 2020 (2019)

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Soundtracks

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 433 (Vocal)
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Courtesy of Sony Classical
Licensed by Sony Music Entertainment UK

User Reviews

I don't understand .....

..... how a dialogue-based movie could make me sooo immersed in it, i cried three times during the movie. I am not a Christian but OMG their acting and the camera ..... they're soooooo good you must watch it coz I have no words to describe it!