Following the news of the death of Pope Francis, there’s been plenty of joking about how this whole thing is some sort of viral marketing campaign for Conclave. Coincidentally, there was just a movie about the conclave, the process of selecting a new pope.
A few years earlier, Netflix released a less heralded film about Pope Francis. The Two Popes, which dropped on the streamer in 2019, follows Pope Benedict XVI and future Pope Francis as they have a spirited debate about God, religion, and their roles inside the Vatican. Here are three reasons you should check the movie out this May:
It’s anchored by two incredible performances
For most of its running time, The Two Popes plays out like a stage play, and a movie this intimate almost requires two immensely talented actors to anchor it. Thankfully, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce are more than up to the challenge. Hopkins has played this kind of role before, but his Benedict XVI is curmudgeonly in ways that push past the most basic version of this character.
Benedict believes in rules and tradition, however alienating they might be. Pryce’s Francis, meanwhile, wants the Catholic Church to adapt and change with the world, and the tension between these two worldviews is what gives the movie its juice.
It’s set in beautiful locations
You might think that a movie that’s mostly about two people debating the merits of their various views on the Catholic Church would be a little boring, but it certainly helps if your film is set in the Vatican, which is famously one of the more ornate, beautiful places on Earth.
The indoor and outdoor locales that make up the film’s primary settings help to reinforce the argument at the center of the film. What is all this excess for? Why does the church, an organization that helps the poor and destitute, appear so wealthy? Of course, the settings are nice to look at.
It’s filled with fascinating conversations
A conversation between two people who spend all their time thinking about Catholicism might not seem like the most interesting or accessible movie. Whether you’re a religious person or not, The Two Popes is filled with conversations that get at the heart of people’s beliefs.
These two figures are diametrically opposed on basically every issue, even though they practice the same religion. It’s a reminder of all the ways there are to be in the world, and that while religion might seem like one thing to you, it can look entirely different from someone else’s perspective.
You can watch The Two Popes on Netflix.
