The Two Popes (2019)

Behind Vatican walls, the conservative Pope Benedict 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 & 48 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:

Biography | 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:

Latin English Spanish Italian French Portuguese German

Release Date:

20 December 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Two Popes

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$224,031

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

Director Fernando Meirelles only found out about Jonathan Pryce while looking up photos of Pope Francis online. Side-by-side comparison photos of Jonathan Pryce and Pope Francis would frequently appear in the search results. This prompted Fernando to look up Jonathan's filmography and interviews. Impressed by what he saw, Fernando awarded the role to Pryce.

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Goofs

When Cardinal Bergoglio quotes the Bible to Pope Benedict he says it is from Isaiah 41 Chapter 10. It should be Chapter 41 Verse 10.

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Quotes

Pope Benedict: This is your ego talking. You think you know better.
Pope Francis: I'm Argentinian. How does an Argentinian kill himself? He climbs to the top of his ego, and jumps off.

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Crazy Credits

When the Italian, Argentinian and Uruguayan units are listed in the end credits, their respective national flags are shown on the upper left corner of the screen.

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Connections

Referenced in Lights Out with David Spade: Episode #1.72 (2020)

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Soundtracks

Epistrophy
Written by Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke
Performed by Thelonious Monk

User Reviews

Two strong, honest, performances giving plenty of food for thought.

This is quite a clever piece of work. Both performances demonstrate a complex, sometimes conflicted, humanity in a touching and thought-provoking way. Hopkins, as the scholarly Benedict XVI coming to realise that he no longer feels capable - for various reasons - to remain Pontiff and Pryce as Cardinal Bergoglio with whom he has little in common, and who has come to Rome to seek his permission to retire. The story focuses more on the trials and tribulations of Bergoglio as he rises to prominence in the Jesuit order and navigates the political turmoil of Argentina in the 70s and 80s where he develops a much less "conservative" approach to the issues facing the Catholic Church than his Pope. By the conclusion, however, both men appear reconciled to the honesty and integrity of the other. The extent to which the detail is true is anyone's guess - but by using humour, sport and even ABBA, this proves to be an intimate observational film that is certainly one of Netflix' better commissions.