Uncharacteristically Honest is Vatican's Pope Francis: A Man of His

Growing up in the Catholic Church, The Pope always felt like this bigger than life figure-head who had a main line to the big guy – GOD. I often wondered if he could get married, fall in love or if his life was totally devout to the almighty and spreading the gospel globally. I also wondered how his name was selected and what drives them to assist church followers in “living biblically.”

Pope Francis: A Man of His Word sheds the light on our current Pope. The first from Argentina. The first to be openly critical of church policy regarding homosexuality, ecology and other government heads of state. The first to go all the way in our current President regarding his policy on walls, separatism and racism. Pope Francis is a man who recognizes that poverty is a serious worldwide issue, as is, the misuse of political and economic power across the globe.

One of the interesting aspects of this enlightening documentary is that it’s essentially a story within a story featuring black-and-white footage of St. Francis of Assisi – Pope Francis’ namesake. It’s also fascinating that the Vatican itself reached out to direct Wim Wenders inviting him to “a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a film that I could not possibly dreamed up myself,” said Wenders. “I was intrigued by Pope Francis…very excited by his choice of name…considered it a gift having close access to this amazing and courageous man.”

This is a movie of everyone regardless of race. It’s a bird’s eye biography of his ideas from Pope Francis himself. One of the most beautifully illuminating scenes is a candle-lighting ceremony where leaders from across the globe have come together in interdominational harmony. “Light overcomes darkness, not the other way around,” says Pope Francis. “In unity, each of us can become a candle.”

Living in this dark age of hatred and disunity, it is of comfort that some world leaders are still capable of seeing the positive aspects of life. Produced by Focus Features with a running time of 1 hour and 32 minutes, Pope Francis: A Man of His Word just had a triumphant screening at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was released in theaters on May 18th.