Original subtitles

♪ (ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

SOFIA DUBOIS: He's just a little bit nervous.

The Holy Father knows better than anyone

how to take the stage.

POPE JOHN PAUL III: Is there any possibility he could wake up?

Based on the knowledge we have now, no.

Do you have any idea what that would mean...

for the church?

-(LENNY BELARDO GROANING) -Catastrophe.

And you are the only one who can diffuse it.

You know, Eminence, perhaps it's time you took a step back.

Are you asking or ordering me?

There is no room left for poetry.

INTERVIEWER: Holy Father, just-- Just who is John Brannox?

[TV static drones]

[bright tone]

[birds calling distantly]

[birds calling]

[instrumental rock version of "All Along the Watchtower"]

ReEncoded By Dr.XJ | PSA www.PSArips.com

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- [speaks foreign language]

- [speaking Italian]

- [speaks Italian]

[horn honks distantly]

[car door slams shut]

[unintelligible chatter]

- What are they doing?

- They don't want to let us hear him.

- Why?

- Because they want to kill Pius XIII.

- I know Lenny.

Pius XIII is a living saint.

And in the Vatican,

saints are an inconvenient presence.

[rousing orchestral music]

♪ ♪

[high-pitched beeping]

[phone buzzes]

♪ ♪

[electronic beeping]

- [slurps]

Except for the doctor and the nun,

no one should know he woke up until I say so.

[slurps]

[high-pitched beeping]

♪ ♪

- You called me.

I came back.

Now tell me why.

- [speaks foreign language]

- [speaks foreign language]

- How long did I sleep?

- Twelve months.

- Then I certainly deserve a Cherry Coke Zero.

- You do know it's a miracle that you woke up?

- Please. Let's not start that again.

[soft dramatic music]

♪ ♪

What is your name, Sister?

- Pamela.

- A name right out of a TV series.

And was it you

who watched over me all this time?

- Yes.

Every night.

- And what did you do all night?

- I would look at you...

and pray.

And when I fell asleep, I would dream I was praying...

[whispers] For you.

♪ ♪

- What did you ask for, in your prayers?

♪ ♪

- That you would wake up.

- Maybe it was you, then.

God listens to those who are close by.

♪ ♪

Thank you, Sister Pamela, for watching over me.

- It was a gift from heaven, Holy Father.

- Oh, right.

It's true.

I'm the pope.

♪ ♪

You will have to fill me in

on what's been happening these past few months.

- Okay.

[whispering] Okay.

♪ ♪

Ewa, dear, we have a guest.

♪ ♪

I gave the servants a few days off.

That way, no one will see you.

Luckily, we're the same size.

- I can't wait to wear my papal vestments again.

Doctor, what is wrong with your wife?

- Oh, healthwise, nothing.

She's suffering, that's all.

- We all suffer.

- She more than most.

She cannot bring herself

to accept the inscrutable will of God.

- She looks like a Madonna.

- One of the reasons I fell in love with her.

We're both devout Catholics, and...

before, she was a happy Madonna,

now she's a grieving one.

- You have children.

- I'd like to show you around my home.

This is one of the most beautiful houses

in all of Venice.

Everyone said, "Don't buy it."

"It's cursed," they said, but I don't believe

in superstitions that are antithetical to God,

even if everything pushes us to believe they're true.

- That didn't stop you, though.

- From desiring the house? - No.

From desiring your son.

Even though the tests showed he was ill.

However, you and your wife...

do not go against God.

You go toward life.

And your wife refused to terminate the pregnancy.

[stark piano music]

- You know everything.

What are you?

♪ ♪

A guru?

A saint?

- Neither of the two.

I'm simply an intuitive man.

Many of us are.

♪ ♪

- There's so many things I'd like to ask you.

- You'll be disappointed.

I don't have any answers.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- I quit when I got pregnant.

- Good for you.

Now you can start up again.

- It's nice to smoke.

- No, it's not nice.

It's right.

♪ ♪

- You're in perfect health.

Everything is perfect and inexplicable.

- An absolute...

scientific exception.

- Nonsense.

Absolute scientific exceptions do not exist.

- Thank you for the hospitality

and for agreeing to hide me here.

- You're welcome to stay as long as you like.

- Sooner or later,

I have to go home...

to the Vatican.

- What are you waiting for?

- First...

I want to understand.

- The world has not forgotten you.

The world loves you.

- That's not the point.

- What is it, then?

- In what way does the world love me...

From now on...

Now that you...

When you face questions from the press,

won't be able to explain...

scientifically...

how I woke up from a coma?

♪ ♪

Do you know my greatest desire right now?

- No.

What?

- To go for a walk.

- With the proper precautions, we can give it a try.

Venice is quite deserted in January.

The tourists aren't around.

The locals have been gone for years.

[birds calling distantly]

- Are you all right, Doctor?

- Your Holiness... you rose from the dead.

[foreboding music]

♪ ♪

- I didn't ask for this.

♪ ♪

I did not ask for this.

♪ ♪

- My husband has no courage.

He hasn't asked you what I begged him to ask,

so I want to ask you myself.

- You, on the other hand, are courageous.

That's clear.

- I have nothing left to lose.

- Have you never asked yourself

why your husband has no courage?

- No.

- 'Cause, unlike you, he has something to lose.

You.

He's afraid of losing you.

- I will always be at his side.

- No, that's not how it works.

When one thing changes, everything changes.

Do you have any evening dresses?

You would look magnificent in an evening dress.

That bathrobe, on the other hand...

doesn't suit you.

- I have beautiful dresses,

but I haven't worn them in 11 years,

not since my son was born.

Why did you ask?

- Because if things were to change...

if you were to start wearing those dresses again,

and your husband was not by your side,

he may kill himself.

No man can allow himself the luxury

of losing a woman like you.

That's how things change,

and that's why he's afraid.

- No.

It's not the way it is.

- Yes, it is.

I know it is.

♪ ♪

- While you were in a coma,

a woman named Ester spoke on TV.

She said-- - I know what she said.

And I know what you want to ask.

I didn't do anything for Ester,

and I won't do anything for you,

because I am unable to help you.

- You are right. Things change.

And if my son were to get better,

I wouldn't have any more reason to live in a bathrobe,

and my husband wouldn't have

any more reason to fear losing me.

We would be exactly what we wanted to be

in the beginning: a happy family.

- Then never cease praying.

- You are-- - You see me as a shortcut.

As an impossible dream.

- You are a saint, and you performed a miracle.

Ester got pregnant.

Then, on TV, a priest-- he wanted to remain anonymous--

said that, in the Vatican, you performed a miracle

when you were a boy too.

You cured your friend's mother who was terminally ill,

just like my son.

Then you rose from the dead.

That's what my husband told me, and he's a scientist

and one of the most famous cardiologists in the world.

You weren't supposed to wake up,

or rather, you couldn't wake up.

And yet you did.

- I am not a saint.

I did not rise from the dead.

And I do not perform miracles, ma'am.

I am just the pope.

- No.

No, you're not. Not anymore.

[soft dramatic music]

♪ ♪

My husband was cowardly about that as well.

- What are you saying?

- Nine months after you fell into a coma,

they elected Tommaso Viglietti, Francis II.

He didn't last long.

Then they elected John Brannox, John Paul III.

Try to cure my son.

You're no longer the pope.

You're beyond that.

You're a saint.

If you rose from the dead, you're Christ.

If you have returned, you're the Messiah.

I beg you. Try to cure my son.

- No.

- Try to cure my son!

He is suffering.

He has been bedridden since the day he was born.

He knows nothing and no one, not even us, his parents!

I'm no longer alive.

My husband is no longer alive!

We're dead, in a dead house, in a dead city.

I believe in God, and I know I need

to be able to read the signs.

You came here! That's a sign!

But you know all this far better than I do.

♪ ♪

- You believe in God,

but you're not very versed in theology.

You're delirious.

I am not Christ, nor am I the Messiah.

It's more likely that I am Antichrist.

In truth, I have only woken up from a coma,

and medical science doesn't know

how to explain it yet.

That's all.

You want to save your son, then continue to pray.

- I have run out of prayers.

I don't believe in God anymore.

God can fuck off!

I only believe in you, and you have a moral obligation

to save my son!

♪ ♪

- Let's go.

- Why?

- Because they've killed Pius XIII,

so there's no more reason for us to stay.

- How can you be so sure? - Ester said so.

- It's true.

They killed him.

I know.

I feel it.

- Let's go. - Go where?

- To purify ourselves.

Whoever believes in me should follow me.

♪ ♪

[bells tolling]

[approaching footsteps]

- I was hoping I'd find you here.

You scared me. I didn't know where you were.

Put these on.

- I needed another walk.

- Will you ever be able to forgive my wife?

- She's the one who'll need to forgive me.

- Oh, no, of course-- no, she forgives you.

Please, please accept my apologies on our behalf.

She's...

She's worn out.

Wasting away like a candle.

And I'm afraid.

At times, I worry that she's on the verge

of insanity, and... I'm terrified.

In centuries past, only bad things happened

in our palazzo-- murders and suicides,

and...at night,

every night when I can't sleep...

I'm thinking to myself,

"It's going to happen again."

History's going to repeat itself.

- No.

It's not going to happen this time.

Venice is beautiful,

but Rome is my home,

even though I'm no longer the pope.

I hope there's still a bed for me there, somewhere.

- You want to go back to Rome? Shall I call someone?

- No.

Not yet.

Let's go.

- Go where?

- I want to meet your son.

[Lean Year's "Come and See"]

[ethereal folk rock music]

♪ ♪

- ♪ Keep your head down ♪

♪ Don't say no ♪

♪ Don't say ♪

♪ Don't say I told you ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ The old girl ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come and see ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come and... ♪

- He has type one congenital myotonic dystrophy.

Progressive, irreversible loss of muscle tone...

Impaired development, endocrine alterations,

congenital heart defect...

Cognitive deficit.

Even the most minor cardiac arrhythmia

can prove fatal.

- I would like to stroke his cheek.

- Of course.

He'd like that,

though he won't be able to express it.

- ♪ Don't say no ♪

- I will know.

I will know regardless.

♪ ♪

- ♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ The old girl ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ The old girl ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come and see ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come, come, and show me ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come, come, and see ♪

- What is he saying to him?

♪ ♪

- I don't know.

- ♪ Come and show me ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ The old girl ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ The old girl ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come, come, and see ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come and see ♪

♪ ♪

- Never, never before have we seen

anything like this.

A vile, treacherous attack

against the very heart of the Catholic Church.

What we know so far is the basilica was empty

when the dynamite attack occurred late last night.

There are no victims.

However, numerous works of art have been damaged,

including Michelangelo's "Pietà,"

which reportedly has suffered serious damage.

There are unconfirmed reports that two young men--

an Egyptian and a Syrian

seen earlier hanging around the Vatican--

were taken into custody

immediately following the explosion.

Neither Pope John Paul III

nor new Secretary of State Cardinal Mario Assente

has released any sort of statement.

This inexplicable silence on the part of the Holy See

is already cause for heavy criticism.

[door creaking]

[lock clicking]

[knocking]

- Come in.

What is it?

- I would like to apologize.

- You two are going out tonight.

- Excuse me?

- Tonight, you and your husband are gonna get dressed up,

and you're going out.

Take the evening off.

Doesn't matter where you go, but tonight...

You're going out.

- Why?

- Because you need it.

I'll watch over your son for you.

- Okay.

- What is your son's name?

- Eric.

- Good.

I'll stay with Eric.

- What did you say to him yesterday

when you whispered in his ear?

- I described heaven to him...

Down to the tiniest detail.

- You know what heaven is like?

- Yes, I do.

[sorrowful orchestral music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- I'd forgotten that in January,

not a single restaurant is open here in Venice.

- We already had one miracle tonight.

We're out.

I can't remember the last time that happened.

- When we first met, we used to go out every night.

- I wanted to show you Venice before we got married.

- Yeah, that was a special time.

♪ ♪

- Do you remember the first time we met?

- Of course I remember.

You were wearing a tux then too.

And you were very charming.

- I remember I said,

"My name is Helmer Lindegard. I'm a doctor."

And you came back with an extraordinary retort.

You put on a mysterious smile, and you said,

"Know that I will need a lot of care."

Game over. There was no turning back.

I was head over heels in love from that point on.

- I used to be good at coming up with witty retorts.

When you are young, you believe blindly

in your own vanity.

- That same night in St. Mark's Square,

I snuck a peek at you as you walked.

I'll never see another woman walk like that

as long as I live.

And I said to myself,

"When she stops walking, I'll ask her to marry me."

- You'd never seen a model walk before.

And I said, "Yes.

I want to marry you too, Doctor."

Just like that.

How crazy was I?

Shall we go home?

I'm worried about Eric.

- Yes, let's go home.

[soft breathing]

[soft dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Now, Lord...

you and I must talk.

You and I must talk about Eric.

Make him a man, Lord.

Make him a man, Lord.

I will intercede.

But you must act.

Make him a man.

[whispering] Make him a man.

Make him a man, Lord.

♪ ♪

- Wait here...

And look.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- I do not perform miracles.

I simply find myself at the center of coincidences.

[stirring orchestral music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- Time for your bath, Eric.

- Thank you for trying.

I imagine you would like to go back to Rome now.

- No.

It's still not time.

[Angelo De Augustine's "Time"]

[tender acoustic pop music]

- ♪ Time keeps on coming ♪

♪ I've been all around ♪

[singer whistling]

♪ ♪

♪ I'll keep on running ♪

♪ Till time catches on ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I've been on the run ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Now you're back in your hideout ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Never gave it all for free ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Everyone is talking to ya ♪

♪ To ya ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Time keeps on learning ♪

♪ ♪

♪ About you and me ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I'll keep on loving ♪

♪ Someday she'll love me ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I'll love you for free ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Now your heart has been broken ♪

♪ ♪

♪ And you're miles off away ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Now you can't find the right words ♪

♪ To say ♪

♪ Once uphill, you'll be fine ♪

♪ But your love's lost down the line ♪

- [speaking foreign language]

- Sit down, Sofia.

- [vocalizes]

- What is happening is bigger than I am.

I need some advice.

- I know.

- Will you help me? - I am retired now.

I am out of the game.

- Can't we pretend? - Pretend what?

- That you are still the secretary of state.

Just for ten minutes, please?

You are the most intelligent man

the Church has ever known.

- I make a brilliant gardener as well.

Girolamo and I tried grafting a nun's orchid

with a Rose of Bethlehem, and it worked.

Don Mimmo was skeptical, but he had to eat his words.

Right, Don Mimmo?

So, Sofia, what seems to be the problem?

- Since the attack, the pope has given up.

- He is poorly advised.

- The problem is that it has become impossible

to advise him.

He has holed himself up in his apartment

and refuses to speak with anyone.

He has fallen into a deep depression.

All he does is weep over the death of his dog.

- He said it himself.

He is a piece of a fragile porcelain.

- What can I do?

- You can weaken the strong.

I have been doing that my whole life.

But there is one thing you cannot do.

- What's that?

- Give strength to the fragile.

- And so?

- And so there is only one thing left to do.

Ride John Paul III's weakness.

- What do you mean?

[hushed music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[soft, foreboding music]

♪ ♪

- [exhales sharply]

♪ ♪

- Facing you is a man who is worthless.

A man without merits.

I'm indolent.

I'm pompous.

I'm irresponsible.

I'm conceited.

I'm a disappointment.

I am an undistinguished thespian.

I'm a weak man.

And I am a drug addict.

- Holy Father-- - Please, let me finish.

♪ ♪

- You and I must talk now.

Yes, Lord, you and I must talk about Eric.

Life is life.

I know I'm going where you'd rather I didn't.

I know, but I'm asking you.

[whispering] Make him a man.

Make him a man.

I will intercede, but you must act.

Make him a man.

I told you, make him a man.

Make him a man.

♪ ♪

[whispering] Make him a man.

- Have you read "The Middle Way,"

the summation of my thinking?

Did you like it?

- Like it?

Who didn't?

It is what is guiding us all in these difficult times.

It is a masterpiece.

- True, 'tis a masterpiece.

But I did not write it.

♪ ♪

- What are you saying, Holy Father?

- My brother Adam wrote it,

and he died before he could publish it,

so I did and claimed it as my own.

I'm an impostor, Gutierrez.

- [whispering] Make him a man.

Make him a man.

Make him a man now.

Make him a man now, Lord.

Make him a man.

Make him a man. Make him a man, Lord.

I will not wait another second. Make him a man.

Make him a man now, Lord! Make him a man!

Make him a man, Lord. Make him a man!

Make him a man! Make him a man, Lord, now!

Make him a man!

Make him a man, Lord! Make him a man!

Make him a man!

Make him a man, Lord! Make him a man!

Make him a man, Lord!

Make him a man now!

[stirring orchestral music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- Have you finished, Holy Father?

- Is that not enough? - No.

It's not enough to not be forgiven.

God saves us, always.

God does not deny anyone the grace of salvation.

It is the most beautiful thing there is.

We love vanity and sin.

We love depravation and wickedness,

so we believe that God has abandoned us.

That God does not like us.

But God does not manage our lives.

He does not correct our weaknesses.

God does not stop our hand when it plunges into sin.

No.

All he does is save us.

In the end, God saves us.

And he saves us with a kiss.

Just like with Moses.

- Holy Father...

What is heaven like?

- Exactly like here.

The same life as here on Earth for each of us.

Except...

it's not the same.

- Why?

- Because in heaven...

we glimpse God.

- And Eric?

Will he go to heaven?

- Yeah.

This is his place.

And now the time has come.

- For what?

- To return to Rome.

You will call the Holy See...

and speak with Gutierrez.

And when you're finished speaking with Gutierrez,

you will get your wife, and the two of you

will meet me in the ballroom.

- Why?

- Because I would like to say good-bye.

But first...

But first,

I would like to show you a miracle.

[Lean Year's "Come and See"]

[ethereal folk rock music]

♪ ♪

- Holy Father...

I have to tell you something.

♪ ♪

- Now...

Let's hold hands...

And close our eyes.

♪ ♪

- ♪ Coming up on noon ♪

♪ The old room ♪

♪ Feels like an ulcer ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Packing up the old room ♪

♪ So soon ♪

♪ Wishing to be elsewhere ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Keep your head down ♪

♪ Don't say no ♪

♪ Don't say ♪

♪ Don't say I told you ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ The old girl ♪

♪ Fuck off the old world ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come, come, and see ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Come, come, and show me ♪

♪ ♪

[bright tone]

♪ (UPTEMPO MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

What do you intend to do?

LENNY BELARDO: I intend to spark a revolution.

And it'll all blow sky-high.

CARDINAL VOIELLO: You are the pope,

and no one touches the pope.

No one questions the pope.

SIR JOHN BRANNOX: What is to be done?

♪ (MUSIC INTENSIFIES) ♪

Whoever is without sin... shall cast the first stone.

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪