Mark Reviews Movies: POPE FRANCIS: A MAN OF HIS WORD

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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 17, 2018

Filmmaker Wim Wenders obviously admires Pope Francis. He's not alone in that admiration. Francis has become something of a star in a way that no other recent pope has, except, perhaps, Pope John Paul II, whose reign over the Catholic Church was long enough that he was part of some massive political changes in the world.

Francis' papacy, though, is a different matter. He became a star almost immediately upon his selection. Here was the first pope from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, the first from the Jesuit order, and the first to adopt the name of the patron saint of the environment, known for his then-radical ways of putting the teachings of Jesus into practice in the world.

The new pope's relatively liberal views, within a Church that seemed to be moving more toward the political right under the papacy of Francis' predecessor, spoke to Catholics—of both the practicing and lapsed varieties—and non-Catholics alike. He spoke of the causes and effects of poverty, of the way that humanity has been destroying the world in which it lives, and in terms of inclusion that the word "catholic" should imply. Catholics and non-Catholics who preferred the suggested and implicit political leanings of Francis' predecessor weren't fans.

Wenders' documentary Pope Francis: A Man of His Word isn't a biography of the current pope, and it's not particularly interested in the ways in which Francis developed his theological and political beliefs. It sees the man as he is: humble, thoughtful, caring, and active. The movie follows the pope on his travels over the five years since he was selected and provides a series of face-to-face interviews between him and Wenders. One gets the feeling that the director is too star-struck to provide anything deeper than a surface-level examination of the man and his papacy.

The result is a movie that only inspires as much as one is predisposed to be inspired by Francis. Those who genuinely love him, as the leader of the Catholic Church and/or as a religious figure with the capacity of making grand changes throughout the world, will find their love confirmed. Those who preferred his predecessor and/or disagree with the underlying political leanings of Francis' worldview will find plenty of the man's statements over which to become irritated. Those who think he's at least a step in the right direction for an institution that more than occasionally appears hypocritical, has a horrific track record in dealing with scandal, and seems to have fallen behind in the social and cultural changes of, say, the past couple of centuries will still believe that.

The filmmakers himself gets the first word here, positing a thesis in the form of some generalized statements about the state of the modern world. There is famine. There are the consequences of climate change. There is poverty, and there are wars, terrorism, and other forms of increasing strife. Cut to video of Francis before he became the pope—when he was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and a cardinal—speaking before a large group in the city, directly addressing their concerns and encouraging the people to remember the fraternal love they have for each other as members of the human race. His final suggestion is that everyone should embrace their neighbor. The crowd does.

In Wenders' question-and-answer setup, here, then, is the answer to the world's problems personified: a soft-spoken man with a big and commonly flashing smile. He speaks in Spanish in this earlier time, and when he makes his first address from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, he does so in the same language. Whether Francis intended it or not, that announced a major shift in the Church.

Some of his other changes included a denouncement of the wealth of the Vatican, choosing to live in an apartment instead of the pope's traditional residence and driving around in a tiny car instead of some fancy SUV on state visits. Even the so-called Popemobile appears to have undergone a change. Instead of the all-surrounding dome on the back of a track, Francis' model only has a transparent protective barrier in the front. At stops, he reaches out to touch his admirers and even steps down to great an elderly nun he recognizes from the old days.

His visits—to places that have suffered natural disasters or disease—show his compassion. He blesses children in hospitals in Africa, embraces a crying woman after a typhoon, and washes the feet of prisoners. The point of these scenes, of course, is to show Francis' words in action. The words come from interviews with journalists and, of course, Wenders' assorted talks directly with the pope. The camera keeps him in relative close-up, and no matter what one thinks of the man, there's little denying that, when he speaks, he does so with a sincerity and a humility that are refreshing of a man with such considerable power.

Whatever anyone may think of Francis' beliefs or the institution over which he holds power, it is nearly impossible not to like the man after spending some time hearing him and seeing him at work. That appears to Wenders' ultimate goal with Pope Francis: A Man of His Word. In that way, yes, the movie is successful, but it's a rather underwhelming success.

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