The Two Popes (2019)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio	Jonathan Pryce	½
Pope Benedict XVI	Anthony Hopkins	½
Young Jorge Mario Bergoglio	Juan Minujín
Cardinal Cláudio Hummes	Luis Gnecco
Cardinal Peter Turkson	Sidney Cole
Father Franz Jalics	Lisandro Fiks
Esther Ballestrino	Maria Ucedo
Cardinal Arinze	Willie Jonah

Review

The Two Popes is a film about fraternisation, atonement and progression, told through the bond between the last two heads of the Catholic Church, but reflecting the Church itself and its place in the modern era. The story may well have been bent into shape to some degree, since so much of it is based on confidential conversations between Joseph Ratzinger and Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but director Fernando Meirelles (Cidade de Deus, The Constant Gardener) shows so much compassion and willingness to understand and harmonize that his good intentions cover up any fabrication Anthony McCarten's script may contain. And besides, it's not really the relationship between these two popes that's on trial here, but rather the Catholic Church as an organization. That being said, the film is not at all critical towards religion; it hails humanity's ability for compassion and empathy, even in times of adversity. If that sounds all too cordial, it's not. The Two Popes is a clever little film, fortified and given emotional resonance by the solid, sensitive performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce in the title roles.