As a baptized, but not pure, half-hearted Christian, I watched this film out of curiosity and voyeurism: the workings of power within the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Over the years, there have been constant scandals within the Catholic Church, such as the frequent exposure of money corruption and the sexual abuse of priests and children. How does a religious organization handle such a crisis? It is said that the film is adapted from a real story, the process of how the former Pope Benedict XVI voluntarily abdicated and how the current Pope Francis took over the throne.
From the point of view of narrative skills, the film is mainly based on the dialogue between the two popes, interspersed with the personal growth history of the current Pope Francis. vulgar. But the more you look down, the more and more you can't stand this kind of stupid stuff: 1. It's so good to describe the current Pope, this flattery is advanced! ! 2. This movie obviously appeals to progressives, pizza, Fanta, football, listening to the Beatles, wearing old leather shoes, riding the bus, how does it all look like a politician's campaign propaganda? Of course, I fully understand the secularization movement of religion. Just like the life-oriented reform of Buddhism, Catholicism must also step down from the altar of power and attract the younger generation to join the religion, which is really helpless.
In fact, there are several flaws in this film: 1. Francis's repentance for his actions during the Argentine military government seems pretentious and insincere. As a matter of fact, the church helped Zhou in the military dictatorship. As for how Francis himself acted, it is unknown. The director arranges such a confession, is it a review and confession of history? We are all well aware of the relationship between religion and political power, and no one is immune. It's not like going to the remote mountainous area to deliver meals to poor children and preaching, sitting on the top of the mountain and thinking hard. Without real reflection, repentance is nothing but a show.
2. Regarding the frequent cases of child molestation by priests all over the world, Benedict XVI said, "I bury my head in the study, study my studies, and neglect this matter."
3. After the death of the former Pope Paul II, when he was elected as Pope in secret, the movie explained that "Ratzinger is very eager to be elected Pope". I totally understand that anyone has a desire for power, it's normal. However, the psychological transformation process of Benedict XVI's choice to voluntarily abdicate was insufficiently explained. The reason is very far-fetched. He just said: "Because I can no longer hear the voice of God." At that moment, this sentence shocked me, thinking that something major happened. , but instead of continuing, he turned a corner "I heard only one voice, Go!" Mom, what the hell is this? So I prefer John Updike's description in In the Beauty of the Lilies about the process by which Presbyterian pastor Clarence lost his inner voice, extremely painful and sincere! As clever as Francis, he accepted the reasons of Benedict XVI. No wonder he said: "The truth is very important, but without love, the truth will be unbearable." His love is to choose to see through and not to say it - "Is your old man too stressed and can't go on? Right?" So it can also be said in reverse, "Love is vital, but without the truth, love is just confusing."
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