User Reviews

Papacy and its institutions have attracted film makers in many different ways. The Vatican or its clones have been used as sets and stage for many movies in genres ranging from historical movies to crazy comedies. Nanni Moretti's 'Habemus Papam' tries to be more and different. It tries to say something important about the burden of supreme office of the Catholic Church, while telling a story that hesitates between social satire and comedy of situations.

A pope is dead, and a new pope needs to be elected. The college of cardinals gets together, doors close, cardinals start the election process. After a few inconclusive rounds, cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli) is the unexpected winner. White smoke. The pope is to be announced and should bless the crowds gathered in the piazza in front of the San Pietro. However, there is a problem. The new pope seems to have second thoughts. The burden of responsibility? Stage fear? A shrink (Nanni Moretti himself), the best money can buy, is called in help. And then the pope runs away. Maybe he is looking to get back to his secret vocation for acting in theater, repressed in childhood? Maybe he will be convinced to get back, after revisiting his responsibilities?

The premises are exceptional for a very interesting film, maybe for more than one. This is actually the problem with 'Habeamus Papam'. Nanni Moretti seems to not have decided which film to make. The characters comedy with the shrink trying to psycho-analyze the pope, and the bunch of semi-idiots with teenager behaviors which seem to compose the cardinals crowd? The situation farce where a member of the guard plays the shadow of the pope to mask the fact that the head of the Catholic church just ran away to try to face real life? The drama of the man facing a huge burden and questioning whether he is ready to undertake it, doubled by the conflict between life as it happens and the deformed reality lived by priests? Each of these succeed to some extent, especially the later due to the superb acting of Michel Piccoli. The ensemble does not work as one movie.

Nanni Moretti's film has an interesting premise - what if the Cardinal elected Pope felt himself incapable of doing the job? That is an intriguing idea to explore, and you could do it as political drama or out-and-out farce. What you cannot do is have both. But more intriguing than a man having an interior struggle with being elected God's representative on Earth, would be the external struggles unleashed by his public refusal to accept the office. That is where, unfortunately, Moretti's film ends - at the point where it should start.

Meanwhile, imbecilic cardinals dance, clap their hands, throw hissy fits at card games and mess up in slow-mo volleyball. Is this pomp and costume reduced to its ignoble essence, or just poor characterisation? The Pope goes walkabout and ends up hanging out with an acting troupe. Is this religion as grand theatre, or Roman Holiday for a top clergyman? Tone, theme and satirical targets all lack focus in this under-realised piece. Moretti's own character has one scene of comic failure with the protagonist, and then seems merely to function as a cutaway from the main plot line. Excising this psychiatrist completely would go some way to tightening up a very disjointed piece.

Michel Piccoli is engaging as the Cardinal encumbered with a crisis of confidence, but that performance gets lost in the narrative failings that frame it. Such is the lack of focus that audiences come away wondering what the film is meant to be. A baffling film, and not in a good way.

I loved Habemus Papam. It has a highly original plot and it takes place in a highly unusual environment. Papal elections does not sound as an intriguing movie setting, but the film is captivating. Who could have thought that 200 elderly men all dressed in the same way could be so entertaining?! But they are! The casting is excellent; everyone has a face and an individuality. I am especially thankful for the casting choice for the lead character, played by the great Michel Piccoli, and "il portavoce", played by my favorite Polish actor Jerzy Sztur (I was so happy to see him inhabit an Italian movie screen so comfortably). Michel Piccoli's presence expresses perfectly the humanity and the philosophical aspect of his character. And Jerzy Sztur lights up the scene as a perfect comical actor.

And yet despite its unusual setting, the film deals with the classical plot of a person out of his own element. And as in every mistaken identity story, the journey into the unknown turns out to be a journey to oneself. You leave behind the familiar and you find the indispensable. Here, the Pope incognito roams the streets of Rome and gradually learns something important about himself.

At the same time, as Pope enters Rome, Rome enters Vatican. This happens through introduction of laypersons into the sanctum sactorum of Vatican, such as the psychologist (who brings with him not only atheism, but also the ball game) and the Swiss guard officer (who introduces the cardinals to the popular music).

I liked the nice small touches throughout the movie, like the fact that the Pope had a dream of becoming an actor in his youth (just like John Paul II), or the Chekhov's play Seagull serving as a pivotal reference on realization that you might have wasted your life, or the imperturbable portavoce losing his face and cursing in Polish…

In general, it's an elegant comedy that combines philosophy with laughter and offers life's wisdom that not only Popes will find useful.

P.S. And speaking of Popes, Benedict XVI resigned a year after this movie was released, so

No matter how capable we are in life, there are some responsibilities we're simply not able to assume. "We Have a Pope" tells the story of a man who comes to this realization after several days of soul searching. His name is Cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli), who's part of a conclave gathering in Rome following the death of John Paul II. After several tedious and psychologically grueling rounds of voting, he's elected Pope by a substantial margin. His initial reaction appears to be speechless surprise. But then comes the morning he's to be introduced to the faithful, who have gathered by the thousands in St. Peter's Square; the instant the Cardinal Protodeacon exclaims, "Habemus Papam!" to the cheering masses, Melville has a screaming panic attack and retreats to an inner chamber within St. Peter's Basilica.

The spokesman for the Holy See (Jerzy Stuhr), who obviously understands the importance of good PR, attempts to buy time by announcing to the press that the new pontiff needed time for prayer and reflection before taking office, and that he should be making an appearance in a few hours, at which point his name will finally be revealed. Needless to say, it doesn't go as planned. What's worse, the College of Cardinals must abide by the laws of the Church, which clearly state that, until the Pope actually appears on the balcony and addresses the people, the election is not officially over. This means that the entire conclave cannot have any contact with the outside world. This is normally an endurable event. In this case, there's no telling how long Melville will take. It could be days, weeks, perhaps even months or years.

The College, desperate to bring Melville out of his depression and lethargy, make a last-resort appeal to Professor Brezzi, a psychoanalyst (Nanni Moretti, also the film's director and co-writer). Unfortunately, he's so restricted by bureaucratic rules that he cannot adequately do his job. He's forbidden to ask Melville questions regarding his past or anything even remotely related to sex. Dreams are okay, but only with extreme discretion. And he must do all this in the presence of the entire College, who must hear everything that passes between them. The kicker is that, because Brezzi has actually spoken with the pontiff, he must now remain within the Basilica, cut off from the outside world. In the meantime, the spokesman orchestrates a secretive mission to transport Melville to see Brezzi's estranged wife, also a psychoanalyst (Margherita Buy). The College will be led to believe that Melville is in room by having a similarly built guard wander through his bedroom and occasionally ruffle the curtain.

At this point, the film becomes increasingly unclear in its intentions, with scenes that address the overarching issue in odd ways. Immediately after Melville sees Brezzi's wife, he gives the spokesman the slip and begins wandering the streets of Rome, desperately trying to figure it all out. We learn, albeit vaguely, of Melville's failed ambition to be an actor; we even get a few fleeting references to his mother and sister, the latter successful in becoming an actress. Meanwhile, Brezzi organizes an indoor volleyball tournament for the College, each team divided by continent. His reasons for doing this aren't made explicit. Presumably, it's to alleviate his own boredom and restlessness while at the same time providing the College with some physical activity. However, his dialogue suggests an ulterior motive, perhaps driven by his own hostile feelings. He seems resentful, for example, that he separated from his wife, who he believes was in competition with him over being the best psychoanalyst.

What this has to do with Melville's crisis of conscience, I'm not exactly sure. It could be that, like Melville, Brezzi feels inadequate in his field of interest. However, his failure to diagnose and treat Melville was the result of imposed religious restrictions, not professional incompetence. Here's some food for thought: Brezzi tries, unsuccessfully, to convince the cardinals that all of Melville's depression symptoms are mentioned within the pages of the Bible – the only book they would give Brezzi access to. Meanwhile, the spokesman tries his hardest to maintain the illusion that Melville is within his room, although with each day that passes, it becomes clear that it cannot be maintained forever. What is clear is that this Melville must work through this on his own terms at his own pace.

Given the fact that the plot addresses a man's reluctance to become the leader of a religious institution, and considering that both Moretti and the character he plays are both atheists, it's tempting to speculate that "We Have a Pope" is about a crisis of faith. Let me assure you that faith never once factors into the equation. It's not about belief or non-belief. Quite simply, it's about knowing your limitations, about understanding that passion and support doesn't necessarily equate to expertise. This movie could have been about being elected President, or being crowned King, or getting a job promotion; because each deals with the acquisition of power, the message would have been exactly the same. You can have a firm faith in anything and still know that you're not qualified to be a leader.

-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

***this review may contain spoilers*** The other reviewers, in my opinion, focus too much on the minutiae of this story. I must admit my first reaction to the film is that it lacked coherence and punch. However, in the middle of the night, awakening with my own "road to Damascus" (as one reviewer said)regarding this film, I realized that the story elements served to make the statement that the authority and credibility of the Catholic Church in the 21st century is about to undergo a complete transformation, if not collapse. With all the sexual abuse scandals worldwide, the lack of appropriate consequences for the bishops and cardinals who protected those offending priests (see Cardinal Bernard Law, who was given an important position in Rome, after leaving Boston in disgrace), and the appalling treatment of and attitudes towards women all point to an institution that can only survive as long as a belief in the concept that the pope is "god's representative on earth" prevails. Within the context of this film we see that the newly elected pope is just a human being like any of us, and maybe only men, not god, have chosen him to lead. When the infallibility of the pope is called into question, then the whole thing begins to unravel. This belief in the pope's infallibility is what the authority of the Catholic Church rests upon. If he's just another guy, does he have the moral authority to make pronouncements about gay marriage, women as priests, celibacy of priests, birth control, and so many other controversial issues. At the end of the film, when Melville finally leaves, the cardinals are completely aghast, showing absolute shock in their reactions, covering their mouths in horror, realizing that their world is about to drastically change. It is no longer "business as usual." I think Moretti knew that this is exactly the message he was unleashing with this film. And to him, I say Bravo!! By the way, I was raised Catholic, have a sister who is a nun, and I attended a Jesuit university, until I was told upon entering a pre-law class on the first day of school that "all you women -- you go to the back of the room. You get a C for the term." There are many, many good people who follow the Catholic faith. But I am referring to the male hierarchy which, since the beginnings of the church, have used all kinds of means to grasp and stay in power. This film takes a little of that power away from them.

... off on a Roman Holiday may well be the answer. It may or may not be significant that Moretti is so easily able to reference two earlier films although not content with that he throws in a performance of The Seagull albeit he depends upon the viewer knowing the opening dialogue of the Checkov play. Clearly this isn't everyone's cup of incense and those, like myself, who delight in seeing Catholicism taken down a peg or twelve, may be mildly disappointed. It may well be that for anyone brought up as a Catholic there me be references to be savoured that elude those of other denominations but the central idea of a total outsider who is elected only because the three front-runners are tied and then, thrust into the limelight, suffers a panic attack, is interesting and verges towards the surreal via the analyst who is summoned but not allowed to probe too deeply into the patient's libido and/or relationship with his parents, plus the game of volleyball played by the Cardinals to beguile the time until papa is inclined to accept his role.

A few days ago, I watched Prometheus, and found it such a revolting stupid waste of time, that I created my account here only to warn anyone from committing the same mistake; Now, unhappily, I have to add this HABEMUS PAPAM to the "what-a-waste-of-time-and-money" list...

Just like Prometheus, what starts out as a very well made film, with impressively credible imagery, costumes, ambiance etc., and generates very high expectations, COMPLETELY loses track, and becomes an utterly meaningless and pointless waste of time, with an INCREDIBLY bad ending.

When the movie begins, we see the election of the new pope, almost unanimous...a man with a gentle and humble face, and we expect he will lead the church into a glorious new path of renovation...but then, as he is being announced to the crowd, he screams and runs off to his chambers saying he just "can't do it".

Would he had killed himself, or thrown himself off the balcony, it would have been far better for us viewers...

With this unrealistic but interesting premise, we are enticed into expecting "what an interesting situation, let's see the pope as a normal man", the movie then shows the church calling in a psychologist to help him out of his crisis...the 1st encounter is comical, with the shrink and the Pope surrounded by cardinals...

At this point, still anticipating a good story, our expectations change, added by the anticipation of comedy, of funny situations, something akin to "King Ralph"...but then, then...the movie DIES. The plot simply STOPS.

For the next hour and 20 minutes, we see the pope running off into the streets, mumbling to himself, as lost as the storyline...NO deep insights, NO FUN whatsoever, NOT ONE interesting or deeper dialogue, he just hangs around a group of actors, one of whom is insane (a feeble and witless attempt at showing catholicism as a fraud?) so completely lost as to border insane. To think this sorry excuse of a mature man might have been a cardinal is simply unbelievable.

Oh yes, and all the while back in the Vatican, the shrink is doing...NOTHING. He plays cards and - VOLLEYBALL(!!!) with the old cardinals. He DOES NOT meet the pope again, don't be fooled by some "plot summaries" around.

In the end, as lost and whiney as before, not one iota the wiser, the pope returns, and gives his 1st speech to the crowd: "I'm not the right person, sorry everybody, I'm not up to it." And walks away back into the room. THE END. WTF???

He does NOTHING a normal man would - he does not resign, he does not appoint a successor, he does not warn the cardinals he wants to resign, he simply punches the whole of Christendom in the face with a "I'm sorry" whimper.

And the college of Cardinals, portrayed as a bunch of mindless aging old men fit for a nursery home, lets him go through to the end. The leaders of a 2000 year old organization act like a collective bad case of Alzheimer's...

I'd rather they'd poisoned him the night before and chosen another cardinal than watching that absolutely implausible "plot".

A COMPLETE waste of time, money, scenery, everything...and between Prometheus and this one, I've wasted quite a lot of my time and patience as well.

Learn from my mistakes, keep away from these dumps, and please wish me luck, I'm trying to find a good movie to recommend, but it's not being easy lately.

"We Have a Pope" was advertised as a comedy, but it's really more of a drama with a few lighthearted moments. I was looking forward to this movie after seeing the trailer, which made it seem like a laugh-out-loud comedy ("hilarious" according to a Huffington Post critic quoted in the trailer). When the movie started, though, I was thinking, "Wow, this is a slow start for a comedy." Minute after long minute of cardinals walking through the Vatican and chanting as they prepare to elect a Pope. Unfortunately, this snooze-inducing pace doesn't pick up much as the movie progresses.

Oh yes, the premise is intriguing: The elected Pope has a crisis of confidence at the last minute and decides that he can't go through with it. He slips away from his handlers and wanders the city, trying to resolve his dilemma. But surprisingly, given a storyline with so many interesting possibilities, the script flounders at this point. The Pope wanders from place to place, never meeting anyone we care about, never having a meaningful conversation. He never learns anything, never resolves anything.

Meanwhile, back at the Vatican, the cardinals organize a volleyball tournament. (What the heck?) The director apparently thinks the idea of cardinals playing volleyball is so amusing that he even shows them in sports-movie slow motion. Yawn. As boring as the Pope's adventures are, this ball game is even more boring.

About two-thirds of the way through the movie, we finally get a hint of an interesting subplot. The cardinals discuss the odds published in the local paper regarding each of their chances of being elected. It turns out that the Pope was selected despite long odds. But alas, the whole matter is quickly forgotten.

"We Have a Pope" has very little character development, a skeleton plot, only two or three funny lines, and a disappointing ending. I can't recommend it.

This worthwhile film is a comedy the way Romeo and Juliet is: both have some funny moments, BUT...

The production values are high and the arcane court ceremony of the Vatican is recreated meticulously--much better than in "The Shoes of the Fisherman". This is as close as most of us are ever going to get to a papal conclave.

More remarkably, writer and director have shown realistically the human side of this powerful, devout, celibate world. The cardinals are depicted in all of their enormous ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as in their frailties and strengths, not as a bunch of holy joes but as real people struggling as best they can with huge responsibilities. Yes, some smoke, and they are capable of playing pick-up ball games.

The character of the cardinal who is elected, and accepts, but then has a breakdown when cannot face assuming the job, seemed implausible to me at first. After all, he has spent a lifetime assuming larger and larger responsibilities--and he could have said, "No."

But it slowly dawned on me that his otherwise unexplained name, Melville--unusual for someone apparently Italian--holds the key to the movie. When his corpulent frame is vested in his papal robes, he is the great white whale depicted by Herman Melville in Moby Dick, and this movie is that story told from the whale's perspective. As Ahab was obsessed in pursuing and catching the whale, this pope frantically tries to escape from the persona that will eventually lead him to his death.