A Modern Pope
At a time when the Catholic Church is at the center of a journalistic, religious, legal, and political firestorm, I was curious when I learned of a new documentary that presented a biopic lens on not only its leader, but also its own transformation. Perhaps one of the most ritual heavy, ceremonious faiths in the world, Catholicism has 1.2 billion adherents who inhabit every nation in the world, yet the documentary that I drew so much inspiration and excitement from took the storytelling narrative from just one.
Pope Francis: A Man of His Word by Wim Wenders was released in May of 2018 and is currently available on Netflix. As one of the most fascinating and electric figures in the world, Pope Francis frequently navigates across globe to spread the message of Christ, and this documentary gives the viewer an overwhelming appreciation of what that entails, while doing so in such a clever, intimate, and intriguing fashion.
I am not Catholic. A point that I should probably share, as perhaps it can be easy for some to confuse a documentary’s content with its imagery. However, the methods that this director uses to project such a controversial figure in such a relaxed, personal light was so inventive that I thought I’d attempt to share it. The film is opened not with what you’d expect from a Papal biography, (i.e. born in 19XX to Mr. ____ and Mrs. ____). Rather, the opening scene and resulting theme throughout this film is rooted in the name of the Pope: Francis, which stems from St. Francis of Assisi, a major religious figure who lived during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Francis of Assisi represented the commitment to the poor and a deep connection with the natural environment—attributes that have come to define Pope Francis’ time as head of the Catholic Church. To help the viewer capture this, the director uses a needed attribution aspect for the character reenactment of the 13th century Francis via a somewhat unnecessary grainy, black and white filter.
Perhaps one of the most impressive use of imagery throughout the film was the b-roll allowing a wide-ranging, very sweeping interaction of the Pope’s travels throughout the world—and the astonishing crowds he draws. While the basis of the interview shots are mostly close-up and medium range shots, the b-roll is impressively stocked with interaction shots where the subject (Pope) offers blessings to disabled children, washes the feet of prisoners, and touches the hands of thousands of followers.
The interviews, I think, offered the viewer the greatest opportunity to connect with the subject and content of the film. It was structured so that Pope Francis was talking directly the camera, offering a direct appeal that is much more compelling than a traditional 60 Minutes-style interview. The interviewer was actually not even near the subject at all—instead sat in a booth with a microphone 50 feet away. This use of one-on-one interaction with the subject forces the audience to engage with the man sitting, virtually, right in front of them. As I touched on earlier, this method, along with blue skies as a backdrop, helps the filmmaker side-step some of the controversy lingering within the Church and the heaviness of the topics being discussed (i.e. income inequality, climate change, child poverty, abuse, and religious intolerance). The combination of the b-roll, music, and direct-appeal interview, in my mind, is a very impressive format to document a man who strikes such resonance and controversy throughout the world.
--Preston Korst
Pope Francis: A Man of His Word by Wim Wenders was released in May of 2018 and is currently available on Netflix. As one of the most fascinating and electric figures in the world, Pope Francis frequently navigates across globe to spread the message of Christ, and this documentary gives the viewer an overwhelming appreciation of what that entails, while doing so in such a clever, intimate, and intriguing fashion.
I am not Catholic. A point that I should probably share, as perhaps it can be easy for some to confuse a documentary’s content with its imagery. However, the methods that this director uses to project such a controversial figure in such a relaxed, personal light was so inventive that I thought I’d attempt to share it. The film is opened not with what you’d expect from a Papal biography, (i.e. born in 19XX to Mr. ____ and Mrs. ____). Rather, the opening scene and resulting theme throughout this film is rooted in the name of the Pope: Francis, which stems from St. Francis of Assisi, a major religious figure who lived during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Francis of Assisi represented the commitment to the poor and a deep connection with the natural environment—attributes that have come to define Pope Francis’ time as head of the Catholic Church. To help the viewer capture this, the director uses a needed attribution aspect for the character reenactment of the 13th century Francis via a somewhat unnecessary grainy, black and white filter.
Perhaps one of the most impressive use of imagery throughout the film was the b-roll allowing a wide-ranging, very sweeping interaction of the Pope’s travels throughout the world—and the astonishing crowds he draws. While the basis of the interview shots are mostly close-up and medium range shots, the b-roll is impressively stocked with interaction shots where the subject (Pope) offers blessings to disabled children, washes the feet of prisoners, and touches the hands of thousands of followers.
The interviews, I think, offered the viewer the greatest opportunity to connect with the subject and content of the film. It was structured so that Pope Francis was talking directly the camera, offering a direct appeal that is much more compelling than a traditional 60 Minutes-style interview. The interviewer was actually not even near the subject at all—instead sat in a booth with a microphone 50 feet away. This use of one-on-one interaction with the subject forces the audience to engage with the man sitting, virtually, right in front of them. As I touched on earlier, this method, along with blue skies as a backdrop, helps the filmmaker side-step some of the controversy lingering within the Church and the heaviness of the topics being discussed (i.e. income inequality, climate change, child poverty, abuse, and religious intolerance). The combination of the b-roll, music, and direct-appeal interview, in my mind, is a very impressive format to document a man who strikes such resonance and controversy throughout the world.
--Preston Korst
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