Wednesday, April 02, 2008

"Have you seen the Patriarch today?"

I found this quite amusing, it is the intoduction to a film about the Blessed Pope John XXIII. Has anyone seen the film or know where to get hold of it?

It shows something of the confusion this holy pope spread around him.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I enjoy a challenge and think I have found more details of this film via the internet. A TV film was made in 1987 by an ex-priest. It was entitled 'I would be called John: Pope John' and celebrated the pope's humanity.

Curiously I noticed one of the actors was called Guido Roncalli - a coincidence or perhaps a distant relative?

Mary Martha said...

Based on the fact that Ed Asner was playing Pope John XXIII it looks like this is the film...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317009/

Sadly, it doesn't look like you can get it at Amazon.

Hilary Jane Margaret White said...

"confusion".

A sign of demonic influence, If I'm not mistaken.

Interesting that the subtitles are in Korean.

Fr Ray Blake said...

Hilary, not necessarilly, the disciples were often confused.

Sadie Vacantist said...

He possessed a coherent intellect being an accomplished linguist and academic. There was nothing "confused" about him.

What he underestimated was the level of post-war anti-Italianism in the 1960s (which still exists if you listen to the BBC commentary of the last World Cup final!). This would be a factor at Vatican II as the predominantly Italian curia came under assault.

Secondly he, (together with ALL his successors) failed to grasp completely, the geo-politcal crisis in continental Europe at the end of WWII: for the first time in World history, Europe was without a political or miltary superpower. "Pacem in terris" (yes, the name of one of his own encyclicals) rested exclusively upon the willingness of the USA to ride shotgun for Europe and the rest of the free World.

Is there any surpise that Evelyn Waugh should find it bizarre that German theologians (of which our present Holy Father was one) from the very heart of this geo-political crisis should be teaching the rest of the World religion in 1962?

Waugh fought WWII, set his greatest novels within it, he predicted and understood fully the mess that was about to ensue.

Unknown said...

It's a franco-Italian film :

JEAN XXIII : LE PAPE DU PEUPLE



Production : RAI production, Lux Vide, Rai Tre, Fos Enterterment, GMT production, participation France 2, en 2002.
Réalisateur : Giorgio CAPITANI
Scenario : Francesco SCANLAMAGLIA (s.a.c.i), Massimo CEROFOLINI (s.a.c.i).
Musique : Marco FRISINA (édition musicale Rai trade).
Acteurs : Edward ASNER, Claude RICH, Massimo GHINI, Michael MENDL, Franco INTERLENGHI, Sydne ROME, Roberto ACCORNERO, Jacques SERNAS, Paolo SPARINI, Ivan BACHI, Tosca d'AQUINO, et participation d'Anna VALLE.

Ce film en deux épisodes retrace les grandes étapes de celui qui allait devenir un des grands papes du XX° siècle en permettant à l'Eglise d'entrer en dialogue avec le monde.

Sadie Vacantist said...

" ... en permettant à l'Eglise d'entrer en dialogue avec le monde ..."

Typical pretentious French twaddle. Check out "On the Waterfront" scripted by an Amercan Jew (not even a Catholic!) and released 4 years before John was even elected. Does this look like a Catholic Church disengaged from the World? Not to writer Schulberg or Greek Orthodox director Elias Kazan, it doesn't.

Was John Ford's "The Searchers" from 1956 the film of a Catholic director with a ghetto mentality?

What of Alec Guiness' conversion to the Faith fresh from his triumph in "On Bridge on the River Kwai" in 1957? Was this master of English language delivery repelled by the Latin Mass?

Marianne said...

Father Ray, after many hours searching I have found a Spanish/English version on a Spanish dvd sales website.
JUAN XXIII. EL PAPA DE LA PAZ
http://www.starscafe.com/

Just hope that it does indeed have English language choice, my Spanish is very very rusty since schooldays! I have ordered a copy, will let you know if it is in English, it should be here in a few days.

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