We have programs we watch steadily but sometimes, we are up for a change. We had heard that "Two Popes" was good but that was an understatement. There is no chance that I will be a main emissary of God on Earth nor that I will be responsible for a billion people's spirituality.
Actually, no one person is or can be but the Pope comes close. I am not Catholic but the movie gives me some insight into the path to the Papacy and the continuous winnowing and sifting needed to try to set an example, lead and improve lives. I knew a little about the Argentine troubles that Pope Francis lived through but the movie brings a bit of them back. They were very unpleasant and trying.
Two excellent actors, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce play the two popes, Benedict XVI (Ratzinger) and Francis (Bergoglio). The dialogues between the two are stellar and I get the feeling that changes and issues in that mightly organization are sticky and would be a challenge for anyone, no matter how holy and devoted and experienced. Just as I count it as impressive for the US to have had a African-American president, I count it as impressive for the Roman Catholic church to have its first ever New World Pope, Southern Hemisphere Pope and Jesuit Pope.
See the movie if you can and prepare to empathize with the impossible duties of the office.
