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SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
The Two Popes is the biography of the first Jesuit Pope named Jorge Mario Bergoglio. We follow the story from his past, his decision to become a priest and how he became the successor of Pope Benedict XVI.
For common moviegoers like us, The Two Popes is an eye-opening lens into Vatican City, its rituals and proceedings. The conclave voting process is one such event most of us would not have seen before, and it's all done with immaculate accuracy. Costumes and production design are off the roof! To select the next Pope, a majority vote of 77 has to be achieved. But more importantly, the question of whether the selection process will lean towards conservative or progressive is an uncertainty - the uncertainty that drives the engine of this motion picture.
Jonathan Pryce as Bergoglio and Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI are magnificent in the roles assigned to them! Nothing could be more realistic than what's at display here. Every time the two sit down for a debate, it's engaging to watch purely based off their performances in pulling off the arguments! The stark difference in terms of lifestyle, taste, perspectives plus values are established with ease and the theological conundrum in which one not allowing the other to leave their respective positions is oiled with tension. While Bergoglio's flashback on how he abandoned his girl and chose this line of work is interesting, the entire episode of how he's involved in the war is nothing but a string of tensionless narrative that no one could be bothered to give two shits about. As a compensation, we see a beautiful yet the most unlikely of friendships formed between the two Popes! Bergoglio teaching Benedict to tango, eat pizza and watch football matches together are sweet!
César Charlone's camerawork is a mix of handheld and conventional, similar to the movie's theme one might say. It's understandable that it's done to dissolve the barrier between the audiences and the world seen onscreen, but the inconsistency can be annoying at times. Sound mixing in the beginning that starts off as a screen narration which proceeds to become mic echo is brilliant! Soundtrack choices are unique too!