#twopopes

The Two Popes. The Two Popes is a cinematic masterpiece and is one of the few pieces of filmographic content that awards the audience with an experience that allows for introspection and understanding as opposed to numbing action and glittering generalities.

The film efficiently and effectively handles relevant and pertinent issues with enviable lucidity and poignance. Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins deliver stellar performances while ensuring that neither steps on the other’s toes. Anthony McCarten weaves a powerful and at times enigmatic web of conversations through his subtle and understated writing, he has truly created the maximum by doing the minimum, in that he carefully inserts silences and strategically places pauses, thereby allowing the audience to think and engage with the content at hand. Bryce Dessner plays to the strengths of the movie by adding little to no noticeable background music, the score is tasteful and precise carefully placed such that it does not detract from the visuals or dialogues. 

Jonathan Pryce is simply magnificent in the film. He masterfully portrays the confusion of a man who finds himself in the company of one of the most powerful religious leaders in the world. He tells us a tale filled with exuberance, repentance, and a sense of hope, and he never betrays the innate simplicity of the character he plays. 

Anthony Hopkins delivers yet another effortless performance. This time of an old man, who understands the shortcomings of his conservative beliefs but finds himself unable to break away from their shackles. He depicts the struggles he faces, his inability to ascertain what is right and wrong, all the while maintaining faith in a power that he believes will guide him to a better place. 

Overall, the film is one that calls the audience to ponder upon their beliefs and  question conventional and conservative ideas. It paints a picture that frames the power that religion has to inspire envy, engender spite and spawn lies. 

JONATHAN PRYCE - Pope Francis from Two Popes (2019)

As I was watching the film and observing its surroundings and setting, I try to understand the situation present and what the film tries to deliver to its audience. It is focused on two persons, in fact two Popes, who are leaders in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is an organization because what I have learned from my COBSHRM class is that an organization has elements, and these can be observed in the Catholic Church. It can be seen through their goals, which means what the Church plans to do and what they have already planned to do for the people and its organization. It is also deliberately structured, which means that there is an organization structure that could support the fact that it is organized with the people in the organization and how they each have positions in the organization. As it was mentioned that there were people in the organization, these group of people work together to achieve a common goal and through that they can lead the people towards that common goal. To reach their goal, they must achieve results with the help of people inside and outside the organization. It was previously explained in my COBSHRM class that an organization, in its most basic definition, is a social system. This leads me to conclude that the Catholic Church is, indeed, an organization with its important key element, which is people.

              For the Catholic Church, the Pope is its leader that guides them through the word of God and helps the people realize their true faith for Christianity. Through the leadership of the Pope, the organization can properly propose on what programs that each Catholic Church in every part of the world can do. In the business world, it is different. Through mere observation, business leaders have different ways of handling their business and there are unethical ways that are done to make their business flourish; this is not what is taught in Christianity and in the Catholic Church. Every decision that is made within the Church and by its leaders must still be heavily supported by their faith and through the gospel of God. The similarity that could be seen with the Pope and other business leaders is that they most certainly have goals to achieve and lead their people to achieve these goals.

                Unfortunately, Pope Benedict XVI’s time as the leader of the Catholic Church was swarmed with numerous problems and scandals that made controversies about the Catholic Church and the religion itself. It could be said that the organization and the leader may be incompetent with the way they handled things, but from a different perspective it was just a fast-paced change of time into the 21st century. The Catholic Church entered 21st century with these problems and it was Pope Benedict XVI as the leader and he bravely faced these problems and tried to solve them as the leader of the organization and to also defend the faith and goal of the Catholic Church. Rightfully so, after several of these problems, Pope Benedict XVI decides to step down as the head of the Catholic Church. Other people may think that this would pose as a negative impact and a bad look for the Catholic Church, but I firmly believe that it is not. In his all righteousness, Pope Benedict XVI is right in his decision to step down as he also believes that he could not fulfill what the organization has trusted him to do and as a leader this is a big step for him to realize to do. I also agree with Cardinal Bergoglio’s decision that supported Pope Benedict XVI to step down because he supported him with his decision and just wanted what is good for the Catholic Church and its people. The impact of a leader stepping down from an organization is that there will be a change of leadership and the way the organization will be performing its tasks and goals since not all leaders share the same leadership style.

(jezsuiták)