Smoke without fire

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"The Pope," one of the big stars of the upcoming Golden Globe ceremony, arrived on screen before it surfaced on Netflix. In fact, these are three different films that are folded into one film, which will only broadcast a conservative and outdated service for the Catholic Church

Movie Star Rating - 2 Star (Photo: Image Processing)

Avner Shavit

Last weekend he came up here in "Pope" halls, which, like "The Irish" and "Marriage Story," also came to the cinema a week before being available on Netflix. Originally, this acclaimed and talked-about movie was called "The Two Pope," and it might have been called "The Three Pope," as, as we have already noted in the American media, it offers three films in one ticket.

On one level, the film offers a glimpse into the backdrop of the papal election process, this through the 2013 inheritance battle between the two claimants to the crown at the time - Benedict, the German and the conservative, played by Anthony Hopkins; And Francis, the Argentine and liberal, played by Jonathan Price. Both Welsh actors and both are nominated for the Golden Globe, as well as "Pope" himself and his script.

On another level, this is a film that describes how the personal and ideological rivalry between the two clerics unexpectedly developed into deep friendship, while Benedict decided on an unusual and rare move to quit his job, and actually asked his long-time rival to inherit it. To persuade him to agree, he invited him to the Vatican for a series of meetings that, at least as described here, transformed them from Chilavas to the size of Saar and Netanyahu to brothers in mind.

And if that is not enough, the rest of his time is spent on Benedict's portrait, explaining what led him to devote his life to religion, why he has terrible qualms about his conduct during the junta rule, and what makes him a regular favorite today for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Gold Globe nominee in acting, movie and script categories. From the "two popes" (Photo: PR)

Pope (Photo: Heart Cinema, PR)

Behind the camera was Fernando Mirls, who directed Katya Lund's "City of God" and has not risen since his career, and his script has been written by Anthony McCartan, who in recent years has developed an expertise: taking fascinating subjects from political / scientific / cultural / theological history, and then tap into And lighten them into commercials that will be commercially successful and will also star in the awards season and give their stars the Oscars.

McCartan did so in "The Theory of Everything" with Eddie Redmine as Stephen Hawking; In "Dark Hour" with Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill; And in "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, and here's the formula that works here, too.

No wonder the Golden Globe, known for its old-fashioned, conservative, and bourgeois flavor, has poured so much love on the "popes," which meets all of these criteria, and like previous creations McCartan has written effectively, makes sure to go all out and create flat entertainment that appeals to as broad a common denominator as possible.

Each of the films folded together in "Pope" is problematic in its own way. The glimpse into the Vatican's embarrassment and the crisis of the identity of the Catholic Church could have been fascinating, but instead of deepening, the film prefers to address the core issues as anecdotal curiosities.

The director trusts the actors to do the work for him. From the "two popes" (Photo: PR)

Pope (Photo: Heart Cinema, PR)

The description of the relationship between the two clerics, however, rests on only one gimmick. Time and again, to squeeze us empathy and appreciation, the film enjoys showing us the Pope and his successor as they sit in the Tooth Tower but perform prosaic acts - call a travel agency as one, buy pizza and eat it, and convince any doubt that it is human comedy and heartwarming. It's good and popular, even sitting together on the couch, watching football and cheering.

Although it carries heavy weight, the film is full of humor. This is a legitimate approach, of course, but this is about seemingly high-level jokes, which are in fact nothing more than a long-bearded plank joke - in one of the highlights, for example, one of the characters dismisses "it was a German joke, it shouldn't be funny." Well, all jokes about stingy Scots and the fact that English people don't know how to cook.

As for the portrait of Franzicus - well, to describe the clergyman's past, the film relies on flashbacks, a method that tends to be cumbersome and clumsy, and so it does this time. His description in the present is even more problematic, as he sins in personality worship. So, by the way, also happened to Vim Wanders' fresh doc on Pope. It may be an inevitable reflex in front of the beloved personality, but either way, it diminishes from the sting and power of "popes."

We were convinced, they are popular. From the "two popes" (Photo: PR)

The two popes (Photo: Cinema Lev, PR)

In this context, the film does not sweep under the rug the less pleasant aspects that arise from it - the fact that Benedict had to join his childhood to the Hitlerite youth, and the sexual exploitation, pedophilia and plaster scandals that stained the church during and before it, for example. But he treats it all casually, in a rather trivial and amused way, but whatever, so it might have been better to ignore these issues in the first place.

Hopkins and Price do a good job, albeit a fairly mechanical one, and the film seems to trust that their baggage, presence and personal magic will do the job for him. Director Fernando Mirls does not exhibit extraordinary momentum or energy here, and after seeing Sorrentino's "young pope," such cinematic treatment in the Vatican is difficult.

"The Young Pope" is a plausible film, but it is unfounded to award him four nominations for the Golden Globe, or any other decoration that is not an award for best service to the Catholic Church. In the negative awards segment, however, this comic drama certainly manages to bypass "The Irish" and emerge as the least interesting of the three films Netflix has released here on screens in the past month.

Coming soon to the Habima show, with Mooney Moshonov and Debella Glickman? From the "two popes" (Photo: PR)

Pope (Photo: Heart Cinema, PR)