We Have a Pope

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  • Opened April 6, 2012 (Limited)
  • 1 hr 41 min

  • The film tells the story of Melville (Michel Piccoli) -- a cardinal who suddenly finds himself elected as the next Pope. Never the frontrunner and completely caught off guard, Melville panics as he's presented to the faithful in St. Peter's Square. To prevent a worldwide crisis, the Vatican's spokesman calls in an unlikely psychiatrist -- played by Moretti -- in the hopes of finding out what is wrong with the new Pope. As the world nervously waits outside, inside the therapist, who is neither religious nor all that committed, tries to find a solution. But Cardinal Melville is adamant; he does not want the job, or at least needs time to think it over. What follows is a marvelous insight into the concept of a human being existing under the title of God’s representative on Earth.
    Note: Presented in Italian with English subtitles. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Michel Piccoli, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa, Franco Graziosi, Camillo Milli
  • Director: Nanni Moretti
  • Genres: Art House/Foreign, Comedy, Drama

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Fans say Go
34 fans
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Critics say Go
64 out of 100
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Fan Reviews

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This is a movie for all creeds....

by Peneflix

This fascinating psychological study will leave you pondering long after its conclusion. Personally, I have never given much thought to the job description of the ?Pope?; realize he has over a...

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An interesting premise

by TheTeller

We Have a Pope is an overly contrived (well aren't all movies) story, and will probably not reach a mass audience. But I found it easy to watch and was interested in the story as it unfolded. A very...

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Something completely different

by shanamaidel

so quirky..., so different. go with an open mind and enjoy. as an English-speaking Jewish girl, I'm not sure that I got all the meaning of this movie. And wonder how the Church might be reacting...

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Critic Reviews

88
Washington Post
| Michael O'Sullivan

By turns sweet, sad, funny and poignant, We Have a Pope is the story of a man who doesn't want to be God's representative on Earth. Read full review

88
Philadelphia Inquirer
| Steven Rea

It's more of a character study, insightful and nuanced, about a man grappling with a profound sense of inadequacy, questioning himself. In many ways, We Have a Pope recalls last year's Oscar winner, "The King's Speech": Someone who doesn't feel up to the job fate has handed him, and then struggling to come to terms with it. Read full review

88
Chicago Sun-Times
| Roger Ebert

There are elements of comedy here, and some very low-key slapstick, but the film is respectful to the Catholic Church and the papacy and takes no cheap shots. Read full review

85
NPR
| Mark Jenkins

We Have a Pope is not the filmmaker's next assault on a Roman patriarch. It's a half-sweet, half-rueful existential drama in which the satire comes secondary. Read full review

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Nanni Moretti as Lo psicoanalista and Michel Piccoli as Il papa in ``We Have a Pope.''