I’ve been on the receiving end of smirky comments and not-too-nice sentences about Fernando Meirelles’ Netflix exclusive ‘The Two Popes’. The film stars two actors, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, who simply have me at “hello” but also Argentinian actor Juan Minujín who wowed me in Lucrecia Martel’s ‘Zama’. But other than that, I went into the film not craving anything more than an interesting watch.
That said, I crave for a film to do something more than entertain me, when I sit down to write about it. A work of the 7th art has to change me. I need to feel like something magical clicked deep inside me to walk out of a theater, or in this case the room where I watch my TV, and sit to pen my thoughts. ‘The Two Popes’ did that. It not only showed me a different side to a story I thought I already knew — the changing of the guard between one pope and the other in 2013 — but also reinterpreted a character, former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio now Pope Francis, in a way that changed my negative opinion of him. And I know at least one other person who felt the same way, my movie-watching partner.
I’m not a religious person, I stopped believing in any faith in 2012 when a loved one had an accident that was completely preventable in my opinion if G-d existed. But I am deeply spiritual and I live my life believing that what I wish to receive is what I should put out to the world. ‘The Two Popes’ in its beautiful shots, perfect actors and wonderfully placed music throughout renewed my belief, even if just in my own spirituality. The film is certainly worth watching, to make up your own mind on what happened when Cardinal Ratzinger who then became Pope Benedict quick the papacy. And why Bergoglio became the ideal candidate for a Church in need of a rockstar.
Speaking of rockstars and music, here are five wonderful songs from the film, reinvented and placed in the perfect spot by the magnificent Meirelles who has become one of my all-time favorite filmmakers. Ever.
Ariwacumbé
Written by Toro Mario Galeano and Neil Fraser (as Neil Joseph Fraser)
Performed by Frente Cumbiero and Neil Fraser (as Mad Professor)
Courtesy of Ariwa Music and Vampi Soul
Dancing Queen
Written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson
Performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Performed by Jonathan Pryce (uncredited)
Bella Ciao
Arranged by Ben Parry
Performed by The Swingle Singers (as Swingle Sisters)
Courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd
Cuando tenga la tierra
Written by Angel Petrocelli & Daniel Toro
Performed by Mercedes Sosa
Courtesy of AR Universal Music (Argentina)
Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd
Sastanàqqàm
Written by Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni
Performed by Tinariwen
Courtesy of Wedge / (Mas)