Karol - O Papa, o homem

to critic this biopic is the first temptation for a not Romano-Catholic believer. but, maybe, the rain of stones to the director and actors is not exactly the wise choice. because it is not easy to imagine other solution to tell about a saint. the film is too sentimental and too sweet. a pious homage to a Pope suffocated by clichés and the status of impressive human institution. and to compare with the first part does more damages to this film. but... . it is a remember of well known events. it is a Catholic expression of respect and love for the most important European figure from the Church, in the second part of XX century. and, sure, it is a religious film. more than a biographic one. respecting the rules of the genre. so, it is so easy to critic it. but, in same measure, more important remains to respect a subjective adaptation of one of the most significant reign in Catholic Church from the last century.

Nice and fascinating biopic about the great Pope from his mature period until death . The film concerns about the majestic figure , the Polish Karol Wojtyla (Piotr Adamczyk ) who was elected Pope , the first no Italian from 1523 , being brought to life at much expense and with great sense and deep sensibility . This is a sequel to ¨Karol, Uomo Diventato Papa¨ (original title , 2005) also titled "Karol : A Man Who Became Pope" regarding his life since his youth in Poland , the early years , until his appointment as Pope of the Catholic church in Rome (1978) , it started on October 12 , 1939 when the evil men Nazis get taken the world , as Nazis have invaded Poland . Karol assisted the holiness call and goes into the seminar and as priest he serves his first mass . After that , he's appointed bishop and Cardinal and subsequently is elected Pope . This following dealt with his fruitful pontiff (1978-2005) and the pastoral journeys he made to America , Mexico , Salvador and many other countries , making an intense diplomatic labour and problems that were taking place in the Catholic church , including the 1981 attack by Ali Agca , and their subsequent meeting and redemption . Concerning his relationship to historical characters such as bishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Goldamez (Carlos Kaniowsky) , sadly murdered , Mother Theresa de Calcuta (Adriana Asti) , Lech Walesa and also killed priest Jerzy Popieluszko (Fabrice Scott) and including Coup de'Etat in Poland (on December 12 , 1981) carried out by Jaruzelski . Thanks to his unshakable tenacity , Pope John Paul II helps to change the course of history : liberty in Poland helped by Lech Walesa and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 decrees the collapse of Communism . But the Pope does not stop being the voice of Christ, even among the injustices of the capitalistic Western world , even among the provocations and challenges of modern times , as developing the faith to inspire millions begins with the power of one .

As this follow-up with similar actors and director deals with Pope Juan Paul II who must confront these adversities and misfortunes , he suffers cruel experiences but the God's faith and the love is the cure for the badness . Karol continuing consoling the mankind , renovating the moral sense and thoughts , giving hope and fighting for human rights . The film captures splendidly the goodness and generosity of the immortal Pope well played by Piotr Adamczyk . When John Paul II returned to Poland for the first time after his election seven year old Adamczyk was in the crowd . Footage of the real Pope John Paul II , albeit with his face obscured , was used for a few scenes . This film's release smashed box office records in Pope John Paul II's native Poland . The movie that held the previous record as Poland's biggest box office boom was another Pope John Paul II biopic , ¨Pope John Paul II¨ (2005) . The motion picture was magnificently played by an excellent plethora of actors such as Leslie Hope , Daniela Giordano , Carlos Kaniowsky , Raoul Bova , Michele Placido , and Adriana Asti as Mother Theresa . Special mention for touching , evocative musical score by the classic Ennio Morricone . The picture was finely directed by Giacomo Battiato , a specialist on accurate biopic , as he directed autobiography stories about Giovane Casanova , Benvenuto Cellini and Stradivari .

Other films about this majestic figure are the followings : ¨¨Have No Fear : The Life of Pope John Paul II¨ (2005) (TV) by Jeff Bleckner with Thomas Kretschmann as Pope John Paul II , Joaquim de Almeida as Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and Bruno Ganz as Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski ; "Pope Juan Pablo II¨ by Herbert Wise with Albert Finney and Brian Cox , and ¨From a Far Country¨ (1981) by Zanussi with Sam Neill , Christopher Cazenove , Lisa Harrow and Daniel Olbrychski . In addition , the first part titled ¨Karol : A Man Who Became Pope" (2005) with Piotr Adamczyk as Karol Wojtyla , Ken Duken as Adam Zielinski , Raoul Bova , Kenneth Welsh and Violante Placido . And ¨Pope John Paul II¨ (2005) by John Kent Harrison with John Voight , James Cromwell as Cardinal Adam Sapieha , Christopher Lee as Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski , Ben Gazzara as Cardinal Agostino Casaroli ,Vittoria Belvedere as Eva and the recently deceased Giuliano Gemma as Navarro Valls .

I very much agree with the comments made by Piotr and dennis888 above. Not nearly as detailed or introspective as the first part, and far too obsequious.

It's funny, the same director made the first part of Pope John Paul II's biography and it was very good. Now this second part seems as if it was made only to get over with it once and for all. There is no emotion in the film-making (which was evident in the first part) no humanity in the characterization of Karol Woytila, he seems like a sanctified caricature of himself, there are no doubts, no dwelling, no uncertainties. Also the world events which he helped to shape are treated very superficially, almost as if they reluctantly had to be somehow included. A shame really, I was expecting something much better.

A real shame. Such important and complex figure as John Paul II deserves a good movie about him; unfortunately, this one did not come anywhere near that.

Piotr Adamczyk gives his best efforts, but even the master violinist wouldn't give too impressive performance when given very poorly written concerto. Essentially, the movie jumps from one episode to another, being a collection of small pieces rather than a cohesive unity; in effect, this leaves the viewer increasingly bored as the movie progresses, as there is nothing really interesting here.

But what hurts the movie the most is the ultimate polarization of characters. The Pope is always good, smiling, charismatic, wise, - put in any positive adjective and it will definitely fit in. The baddies are always cold and cynical. Such polarization gives the viewer the impression of watching an old 1910s silent western: with the Sheriff always cleanly shaven and wearing stainless white coat and the bad guys always bearded and wearing black. Of course, all the controversies concerning the Pope are absent: he is perfect human being, and so, becomes a cardboard cut-out rather than a live character, far from the complex, rich personality the Pope in reality was. In fact, the same can be said about virtually every character, with one notable exception.

The ironic twist of the movie is that the only character that sticks to the viewer's mind is the infamous Mehmet Ali Agca: somehow, he is the only character in the movie that seems to be human, of flesh and bones. And the scene where he assembles his handgun and prepares for his mission is the high point of the entire movie: suddenly, some life is breathed into a lifeless parade of clichés and cardboard cut-outs. Sad. 2/10.

it is a very good movie and a moving one, but I think it is a very small movie for such a big pope. It would be interesting if in the DVD features, we could find some statistics about the quantity of travels, the quantity of people he met, the amount of speeches he gave, the influence he had on different churches, catholic and non catholic, etc.

The movie stays short in the trips he made to America, Mexico, Chile and many other countries for specific reasons and church problems that were taking place in the catholic church. Hoe he renovated the moral sense and thoughts of many priests, and theologians, how he insisted in the universal call to holiness, his love for the blessed sacrament, the renovation of the religious life, the problems with the Society of Jesus, some bishops and catholic doctrine professors. The way he used to reunite philosophers, scientists, from around the whole world to discuss many items every year.

I know it would be impossible to reunite 26 years in a 2 hour movie, but it is a very good try, to start with.