Nanni Moretti joins forces with the great French actor Michel Piccoli to tell the story of Melville, a cardinal who suddenly finds himself elected as the next Pope. Never the front runner and completely caught off guard, he panics as he's presented to the faithful in St. Peter's Square. To prevent a world wide crisis, the Vatican's spokesman calls in an unlikely psychiatrist who is neither religious or all that committed, played by Moretti, to find out what is wrong with the new Pope. As the world nervously waits outside, inside the therapist 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 behind the title of God’s representative on Earth.
Directed by Nanni Moretti
Starring: Michel Piccoli, Nanni Moretti, Renato Scarpa
Reviews:
The New York Times
Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
Mr. Moretti finds broad comedy in the antics of some clerics, who can seem as sweet as children, but in Melville there is pathos and there is tragedy, and not his alone.
Washington Post
Reviewed by: 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.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Reviewed by: 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.
Chicago Sun-Times
Reviewed by: 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.
NPR
Reviewed by: 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.
New York Daily News
Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
Meticulous staging and Piccoli's world-weary presence balance any silliness, making the issues here feel relevant and real. The method is not pointed political satire but gentle enlightenment.
Admission Prices*:
General: $9.00
Seniors, Students and Active Military: $8.00
Members: $7.00
Children 12 and under: $6.00
Bargain Matinee Prices (all shows before 6:00pm)
General: $7.00
Members: $5:00
Children 12 and under: $4.00
Your membership with the Lincoln Theatre saves you $2.00 per film ticket.
*All prices include a 50¢ Preservation Fee that goes directly into our capital account for films.
Monday film screenings are part of the Lincoln Theatre Member Mondays! Click here for details.
Film dates and times are subject to change and extended runs. Please check here, or our phone message at 360.336.8955, day of show.