In 2012 Cardinal Bergoglio travels to Rome to resign, and Pope Benedict XVI summons him to talk. Two men with opposite ideas about the Church spend days arguing, joking and confessing. Meirelles keeps the camera on two actors in rooms, which makes a conversation feel like a heavyweight fight.
The Two Popes is a 2019 biography, drama and comedy film directed by Fernando Meirelles. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (2 narrative, 1 psychology, 1 sound and 1 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, 12 Angry Men uses several of the same techniques.
Pairing two characters of different generations or loyalties who must cooperate, so their friction drives both the comedy and the growth.
How this film uses it
Benedict is formal and reserved, and Bergoglio is warm and easygoing. Their friction is where both the humor and the growth come from. They begin as rivals and slowly become friends, even watching TV together.
Where to see it
Castel Gandolfo. Benedict and Bergoglio spend time in the papal summer residence, and their debate is interrupted by the TV detective show Inspector Rex.
Building scenes out of questions and answers, where 1 character tests and picks apart what another believes. The argument itself drives the drama.
How this film uses it
Most of the film is two men asking each other hard questions about faith, the Church and their own pasts. One tests the other's beliefs, and the argument is the drama. You learn who they are by what they push back on.
Where to see it
The Sistine Chapel talk. In the Room of Tears, Benedict tells Bergoglio he plans to resign, and Bergoglio objects.
Driving drama from what one person hides from or fails to do for another. Loyalty goes unrewarded and silence works like betrayal.
How this film uses it
Each man is carrying something he has not told anyone. Bergoglio regrets what happened to two priests under the dictatorship in Argentina, and Benedict admits he knew about Marcial Maciel's abuse and said nothing. Silence in these cases was a kind of betrayal.
Where to see it
The confession. The two men hear each other's confessions and absolve each other.
Removing music, background sound or dialogue from a moment where most films would fill it. The quiet forces you to sit with what is on screen.
How this film uses it
When Benedict confesses, the sound fades out before you hear all of it. The film makes you sit with the fact of what he did, not the details. Leaving out the words says more than any speech would.
Where to see it
Benedict's confession. The audio fades as he tells Bergoglio what he knew about Maciel.
Changing the color, film texture and camera style for each time period, and using the fashion and architecture of the day. Every era gets its own distinct feel.
How this film uses it
The flashbacks to Bergoglio's youth in Argentina look different from the scenes in Rome. Rome is shot in grand rooms, with a full-scale Sistine Chapel built at Cinecittà. The Buenos Aires of the past looks like a different world. The change in look tells you the time and place before anyone speaks.
Where to see it
The Argentina flashbacks. Young Bergoglio, played by Juan Minujin, is shown in his Jesuit training and in the years of the dictatorship.
Questions
The Two Popes: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does The Two Popes use?
CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in The Two Popes (2019): Odd Couple Pairing, Socratic Dialogue Structure, Betrayal and Withheld Truth, Strategic Silence and Era-Coded Visual Grammar.
Who directed The Two Popes?
Fernando Meirelles directed The Two Popes, released in 2019. CineCode also covers City of God (2002).
What films are similar to The Two Popes?
Films that share techniques with The Two Popes include 12 Angry Men (1957), Schindler's List (1993), City of God (2002), Ran (1985).
