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Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
All Critics (80) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (28) | DVD (1)
Always the star of his movies, even when he shouldn't be, the atheist Moretti gets caught up in his own papal bull. But Piccoli's blessed empathy prevails.
This is rich material that Moretti mines for both superficial absurdity and deep pathos. But he refuses to forge an orthodox happy ending, let alone a tinny satire.
We Have a Pope takes its shots at the institution of the Catholic Church, but this is by no means a scathing satire. It's more of a character study, insightful and nuanced, about a man grappling with a profound sense of inadequacy, questioning himself.
Though skeptical, the film isn't at all mean-spirited.
"We Have a Pope" is a nuanced, moving and profoundly humane exploration of doubt, faith, weakness and resolve.
"We Have a Pope" has great heart.
A hugely enjoyable experience that's sadly let down by a rather lacklustre and uninspiring ending.
Pitching him as an existentialist fugitive who drifts round department stores and into bars trying to reconnect with the world again, Piccoli's performance takes the film to a very sombre place.
Cocooned in humor, lampooning the processes and players of religious politics, [Nanni] Moretti manages to raise serious questions that land with more impact than if they had been treated in a deadly serious manner.
[Nanni] Moretti pushes on to tell his story thoughtfully, with humor and deep humanity.
Director and star Moretti is improbably likable as a sometimes smug psychiatrist. The entire supporting cast is composed of character actors with extraordinarily expressive faces. But the standout is Michel Piccoli in the lead.
While We Have a Pope contains an interesting idea for a film, it ultimately fails to portray the struggle Cardinal Melville is going through, which is the centerpiece of the entire film.
Even with Piccoli in a strong performance, it doesn't live up to the promise of its premise, offering us an efficient first half with good pacing but then becoming disjointed and dragging with no direction towards nowhere. Besides, Moretti's character seems completely useless.
Super Reviewer
A promising beginning turns into a bit of a mess. This is a film that does not know whether to take itself seriously or as a pure comedy and leads to a very very empty ending. Sound and Fury signifying nothing.
As the Papal Conclave wears on, it appears that there is no clear frontrunner which might have something to do with nobody really wanting the promotion. Eventually, the name of Cardinal Melville(Michel Piccoli) takes precedence and wins out. At the worst possible moment right before being introduced to the faithful, he has an anxiety attack. After a time of waiting for him to recover his senses, the cardinals get restless, with the Austrlian contingent wanting to go over the wall to do a little sightseeing. So, while the powers that be read them the rule book, they also bend them a little to bring in a famed psychologist(Nanni Moretti, who also directed and co-wrote). First off, a disclaimer. "We Have a Pope" really has no problems with the Catholic Church or anybody associated with it. Yes, there is a little white lying and conniving but absolutely no global conspiracies, so hopefully nobody's going to hell.(Still, what the Church would do with the ending and the volleyball tournament is beyond me.) Rather, with amiable good humor, Nanni Moretti shrugs as he wonders what all the fuss is about.(To quote him, he is always harder on himself in his films than others.) More is the shame considering the awful pressure the cardinals are under with such lofty expectations. And don't forget; one should always be vigilant towards those seeking power.
What a wonderful film. Shame that it didn't get more recognition in Cannes. Cloaked in humor, this is nonetheless a serious look at a religious leader's internal quest for personal truth. The humility shown is precisely what the Church needs, but... it's merely a film... Michel Piccolli at his very best!
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