SPOTLIGHT FILMS: We Have a Pope
By Contributor
Opening with 108 cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope after the demise of the recent one, Spotlight Films’ next showing is the entertaining farce,We Have a Pope.
The camera pans individual faces, each encumbered with a similar thought, that it not be them. In the end the well-liked but unlikely cardinal Melville ( Michel Piccoli, a prolific veteran of many a fine Euro flick) makes the final cut. He is terrified at the prospect.
As the Swiss Guard, the Vatican spokesman and senior cardinal take their positions on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square where the anticipating masses have gathered, a howl is heard and the introduction halted as all eyes turn to Melville with his face buried in his hands uttering that he simply can’t do it and begs forgiveness.
Since refusal of God’s will is not an option the Vatican urges Melville to take a little rest and calls on the services of Italy’s best psychiatrist and atheist (Nanni Moretti, who also directed We Have a Pope and co-wrote it with Francesco Piccolo).
Melville soon slips away and melts into the streets of Rome. The film intersperses scenes of Melville’s wanderings with the action at the Vatican where captive shrink and cardinals are left to their own devices that evolve into arguments over the menu, the rules of bridge and even the composition of volleyball teams.
With the psychiatrist as catalyst the cardinals are likely experiencing more fun than they can remember.
We Have A Pope will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the Gem Theatre in Grand Forks.
Spotlight Films would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors and patrons including the Boundary Sentinel.
