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 12 wins & 52 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 | catholic priest | flashback | black and white flashback | confessional | 

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Taglines:

Inspired by true events.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Juan Minujín was 43 when he portrayed the younger Bergoglio from his 20s to his late 40s.

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Goofs

The movie states in the beginning that it is inspired by true events but in fact it is not. Never has there been a meeting between Jorge Bergoglio and pope Benedict XVI in 2012. Their conversation never took place. Bergoglio didn't want to retire but in 2012 he was already 76 years old and in the case of diocesan bishops who have reached 75 years of age it is standard procedure in the Catholic Church for a bishop to hand in his resignation. The usual decision of the pope is to accept the resignation. Also, Benedict didn't inform Bergoglio about his plans to retire and he didn't appoint him as his successor which above all would be impossible since Benedict didn't participate in the conclave in 2013.

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Quotes

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio: I'd sort out the bank
Cardinal Ratzinger: Yeah, good luck with that.
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio: Yeah, well the banks almost destroyed my country.
Cardinal Ratzinger: Yeah.
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio: You know they beg for deregulation, like tigers begging to be let out of a cage.
Cardinal Ratzinger: Yeah
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio: They devour everything in sight.

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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 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: In The Hot Seat: Will Forte and Nikki Glaser (2020)

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Soundtracks

Siete de Abril
Written by Andres Avelino Chazarreta

User Reviews

Amazing writing, amazing performances, incredible movie

I'm not a Catholic, and this movie is very, very Catholic. But beyond that, it's one of the deepest cinematic examinations of faith I've ever seen. Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, playing Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (who later becomes Pope Francis) respectively, both deliver brilliant, finely crafted lines with stellar performances. (It's somewhat ironic that two Welsh actors are playing a German and an Argentenian, but most of the film is spoken in English, so it works out in some strange way.) I really didn't follow the most recent transition between Popes, so I had not expected to be so deeply involved with this movie, but I am very glad to have watched it. Highly recommended for its insightful look into the human condition and the underpinnings of faith with its sometimes wavering texture, even for the most religious of us. Beautifully filmed on location in Argentina and the Vatican. If you subscribe to Netflix, then I suggest you watch this movie tonight.

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 Black and White (some scenes)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1