As Sandálias do Pescador

Technically, this is not a great film, but I'm still a sucker for Shoes of the Fisherman. I love its idealism. As a Catholic, I love the vision of courage that this film holds out for the Church -- it is the way I wish it really were. This film has an epic quality to it, with expansive, lavish settings and a rich texture. This is one of the few films I can watch again and again and enjoy every time.

This movie is not without its flaws. The editing is awkward and the film could have been tightened a bit (okay, a lot!). One of the things that bugs me is how the character of Cardinal Rinaldi (the Vatican Secretary of State played by Vittorio De Sica, who is pivotal in the early part of the movie) disappears in the second half without any explanation.

Also, the sub-plot with David Janssen as a philandering television reporter is annoying and superfluous. His only redeeming contribution is in how, during his reports, he provides good exposition about the traditions involved in burying one pope and electing the next.

But these things pale next to Oskar Werner's wonderful, understated perfomance as a philosopher/archeologist/priest who becomes friends with the soon-to-be Pope Kiril. (This character, Fr. David Telemond, is clearly based on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.) The relationship of suspicion and affection between these two men is very engaging.

Werner has one of the best lines in the film when, after his character is censored by a pontifical commission, he says, "The Church. I hate her, still I cannot leave her. I love her, still I cannot live in her in peace." I think that line is beautiful and sums up the way many Catholics feel!

Finally, I have to say that I am not a big Anthony Quinn fan. I usually found him to be hammy. (I think he got a little too much mileage out of his Zorba schtick!) But in this film, he is wonderfully restrained. He gives a soulful performance as a reluctant hero who has suffered much and now only wants to be left in peace, but who also feels the call of his God and his fellow human beings. In my opinion, even though it is largely ignored by the critics, Quinn gave his best performance in Shoes of the Fisherman.

Set in a futuristic vision of the late 1980's, Ukrainian Archbishop Kiril Lakota (Anthony Quinn , though Rex Harrison was originally considered to play the role) is set free after spending several years as a political prisoner in Siberia where carries out forced works . Although it is never mentioned or indicated at any point in the film, the story is actually set 20 years in the future . The Ukrainian man is brought to Rome by Fr. David Telemond (Oscar Werner) , a troubled young priest who is under scrutiny for his beliefs and befriends him and he contends adversities until rising to cardinal and lately Pope . Once at the Vatican, he is immediately given an audience with the Pope (John Gielgud , he subsequently played Pope Pius XII, in The Scarlet and the Black (1983) and Elizabeth (1998), where he played Pope Pius V) , who elevates him to Cardinal Priest . The priest turned Pope singlehandedly attempts to stop bigotry , strife , famine , world conflict , his own personal conflicts and many other difficulties . As the world is on the brink of war due to a Chinese-Soviet feud made worse by a famine caused by trade restrictions brought against China by the U.S. When the Pontiff suddenly dies , Lakota's genuine character and unique life experience move the College of Cardinals to elect him as the new Pope But as a good pacifier , he has to find a solution to Chinese starvation , plus the crisis between China (Burt Kwouk as Chinese leader) and Russia (Laurence Olivier, as one of the Russian Premiers) . Meanwhile , a correspondent (David Janssen) attempts to patch his petty marital troubles at a loving triangle between wife (Barbara Jefford) and young lover (Rosemary Dexter) .

This is a moving but overlong film and in some moments results to be dull ; based on Morris L. West's best seller that contains drama , interesting world policy , emotion and historical events . Good film with thought-provoking issues and dealing with an Ukrainian's rise from a simple imprisoned priest to the college of Cardinals until becoming Pope . The film is pretty well but being wasted by a loving triangular drama between a reporter , spouse and girlfriend . Very good acting by Anthony Quinn as Pope Kiril I who must now deal with a lot of problems as his own self-doubt , the struggle of his friend priest and tries to fend off atomic war ; this type of treatment was a big turning point for Quinn . Reference is made to Kiril being the first non-Italian pope to be elected since Adrian VI 400 years earlier . In real life, this happened 10 years after this film was released with the election of Pope John Paul II .

The footage showing the arrival of the Cardinals and the crowds gathering in St. Peter's Square is taken from news reels and other archive films that documented the events between the death of Pope John XXIII and the election of Pope Paul VI in 1963 . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Erwin Hillier , filmed in Panavison . Rousing score by Alex North , though he reused the opening fanfare he wrote for 2001 (1968) but which had been rejected by Stanley Kubrick, as one of the main themes in his soundtrack . This epic point of view of a rise of an obstinate locked priest from a Siberian prison until Cardinal and Pope was well directed directed by Michael Anderson though emerge some flaws , being alternately compelling and uneven .

Rome and Papal Rome, the ceremonies associated with both, chant including the Gregorian type are lavishly displayed in this beautiful film. However, all of that would just be decorative were it not for the interesting personages: Father David Telemond's poetically flawed theology pitted against Lakota's "simple" faith that saved him from despair in Siberia. The extraordinary character (played with great beauty and humanity by Leo McKern) of Cardinal Leone whose encyclopedic catechism finally gives way to utter humanity and forgiveness in his final encounter with Quinn now Pope. The scattered negative comments form mostly laudatory reviews, I think, stem from people who can't "get into" the less than obvious moments of dialog which require some patience but also a modicum of background into Rome and its history. Sometimes I fear that Americans (and I'm one) can't sit still for anything that isn't an action picture. For me, and I've seen the film countless times, its beauty both in the evocation of Rome and the extraordinary exchanges between the characters makes it a unique cinematic experience.

With respect to those viewers who evaluate this film as entertainment, to fully appreciate and understand the many sub-plots, a viewer would have to understand something about Roman Catholic theology, the currents of 1968, and the popular philosophy of the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin with some people such as the author of the book, Morris L. West. The Oskar Werner character of Father David Telemond is a good surrogate and advocate for Chardin but he is not Chardin. Chardin is mentioned by Werner during the inquiry of the Papal Commission into Father Telemond's writings. The real Chardin believed in what Telemond calls "The Cosmic Christ" "the point to which all of human evolution is advancing." Telemond and Chardin would explain that a good God still allows man to use free will to chose the wrong things, to commit crimes, even mass crimes such as war, because those things are part of the natural breakage that always happens in any production process. But they would also argue that faith would ultimately bring mankind closer to God on a very long but not infinite timetable. Pope Kiril thinks there is beauty and power in Telemond's writings but cannot understand Telemond's views on theology. "There is little of the Catholic faith as I know it in your writing." The Pope tells him that faith alone saved him from insanity in the Gulag of Siberia in the USSR. In his background, fundamental toughness, and simple faith, the fictional Pope Kiril (1968) is an amazing precursor to the real Pope John Paul II (1978). Tellemond protests, "God is there but by a different name." Telemond is finally accused by Cardinal Leone of heresy because he says that if his faith were taken away he would still believe in the world and its goodness--an idealistic but still secular world view. Pope Kiril is willing to sell off the wealth of the Church to help starving Chinese people because he understands that is the only way to prove to Chairman Peng and the world that the church believes in what it preaches. The loneliness of his decision is framed by terror when Cardinal Leone tells him, "This is Calvary, Holiness, and you have just begun to climb." That is the most profound line of a great many profound lines in the movie. One does not have to be an intellectual to appreciate the film which succeeds on its own terms as entertainment. But people who think it is boring just have no concept of what the film is really about. For acting and content, this is one of the best films of the last 50 years.

Gulag worker Kiril Lakota is soldering pieces of metal together in a Soviet prison camp when he hears his number over a loudspeaker. He is summoned to the office of the premiere of the Soviet Union -- the same man who had imprisoned him 20 years earlier. The premiere asks the man, a bishop in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, if he is ready to go back into the world. The next thing he knows, Kiril is on a flight to the Vatican, where he is greeted and lauded by the pope. Later, the pope dies and through a complicated system, Kiril is elected pope and uses his own name as the name he will use during his papacy. Before being elected, Kiril has befriended Fr. David Telemond, a brilliant but controversial priest who is suffering from a terminal blood disorder and whose works are suspect. Later, as Pope Kiril I, he names Fr. Telemond as his personal secretary, over the advice of a well-meaning but jealous older cardinal. The petty squabbles of the cardinals, the love affair of a television journalist who covers the Vatican, the distress of the man's wife and the sharp differences between the rich and the poor of the Vatican soon pale, however, when World War III looms because the Chinese people are starving and no one has come forward to help. When Pope Kiril I comes up with a solution that will feed the Chinese people and avert a 3rd World War, the church is shocked and the people laud his actions. What does he decide to do? Watch the movie to find out ... it's well worth it.

The performance of Anthony Quinn as Kiril I is truly outstanding -- his Ukrainian accent, his almost mystical yet practical manner and his eloquent speeches make this an Oscar-worthy performance (why he wasn't nominated, I'll never know). Oskar Werner as Fr. Telemond was equally touching. Flattered at being chosen to be the pope's friend, secretary and confidant, he comes to realize he has taught the pope many things while learning a few things himself. Thinly based on the life of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Oskar Werner gives a moving performance as the terminally ill, brilliant but troubled priest-philosopher-thinker. This is by no means a perfect movie --- some of the clothes are dated and the music at the party where the reporter meets up with his mistress is annoying. But minor flaws aside, this is a wonderful movie that gives tremendous insight into the workings of the Vatican, the papacy and even the human heart.