The Two Popes

OMG, The Two Popes. I loved this movie. I watched it on the verge of tears, via Netflix, with my husband and son, a sort of surprise. We saw it on the evening we said goodbye to my daughter and her boyfriend, who return to Oregon tomorrow and their jobs on Monday. It’s been a lovely holiday. 

I joke about almost all movies I’ve seen lately, saying, “It’s a Christmas movie!” and I had to say the same about Little Women in the theatre this holiday season and just now about The Two Popes thanks to 1) the subject matter and 2) the fabulous red and white costumes of the Cardinals.

Why I loved The Two Popes: it’s funny, it’s deep, it’s well acted, it’s about the essential stuff: love, compassion, error, forgiveness, authenticity, the ability to change. And the two popes, who are real. It’s stylish, down to the credits. The music is terrific. The switches from color to black and white. Ratzinger/Anthony Hopkins reminds me of my dad.

I’m not Catholic. My husband is. He loved it and predicts Best Picture for this film. We’ve also seen The Irishman and Marriage Story. I’ve seen Little Women and Knives Out and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. I haven’t seen Joker or Parasite or Judy or Just Mercy. Eventually I will. I love movies. I love to see the nominees before the awards come out. For many, many years, I did no such thing. Babies!*

My husband is Catholic, and Cuban. Today he received his Ancestry dot com results. I had given him an early Christmas gift and (forgotten 30th) anniversary (December 16) gift, and the results arrived via email today. It was exciting to see his ancestry map. Mine (seen earlier) was pretty much what I expected, mostly European/Eastern European, mostly Irish and Hungarian.

His was also as expected, though surprisingly rich. Mostly Spanish, as he knew his grandfather was from Spain, with Portugal in there, too. And half Indigenous American peoples (via Mexico) and French, based on his Cuban grandmother, descended from indigenous people and a Frenchman. I was the one who predicted Africa, and this appears to be true. So we are as mixed as we thought! Somehow it all fits in with The Two Popes.

*This baby is my grandniece, Lincoln, with her new Lincoln rubber duckie, a Christmas gift from me. Her mommy says she loves it and cries when he floats away.