The Two Popes

 

The Two Popes

By: Gil Camaymayan

The movie the Two Popes is a story about how the current Vatican leadership as we know now today. It is a story about two individuals namely Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and the scandal from which the catholic church was involved with during such time. The film showed the social and political aspect of the Papacy and the leadership of the catholic religion in general. It gave us the glimpse of the struggles and emotions involved within the two main characters of this story before, during and after each of them has won the papacy. One who is more traditional and abide on all the rules mandated of him before and after he has succeeded into power considering his nationality (German) being the head of the catholic church. On the other hand, we have an unconventional cardinal whose ways are total in the opposite of the norm and was beloved by his people. It showed us the different faces of what leadership is all about and how it affects them and the individual around them especially on dealing with issues and conflicts within the realm of their authority.

 

The story of the Two Popes tells us that individuals having completely different personality, background and perspective in their life can co-exist and can still compliment each other without conflict nor dispute. It showed us that during this changing times in our lives there are things and customs that we need not to follow to the core and being unconventional on certain situations especially if the need for it would arise shall be what would be necessary in order for us to perform out duties and obligation, to be effective and be loved by our constituents or by the people around us. It tells us that each and everyone of us has his own obligations whether in relation to family, peers, society or current designations but unfortunately there are circumstances and other forces that hinder us or make us not perform our mandated and moral obligation. In the end of which we might regret our decisions but what would be important is that must accept what has been done and reconcile ourselves from the past just like what the two popes din where each of them has done and received absolution from each other. This act would help us move forward and make the right choices in life for futures to come.

 

My only criticism of this film is that the director should have delve deeper into the socio-political aspect of the film especially on the issues concerning the church and the people around it but if such then it might be of a different movie and titled differently and not the Two Popes. Also I think it was titled incorrectly since the Catholic Church can only have one Pope and making such title would give an impression to an ordinary person that the film pertains to a conflict of power between two supposedly head of the Vatican state and the political implication of which.