Pope Francis: A Man of His Word

Pope Francis: A Man of His Word is a 2018 documentary film produced, co-written and directed by Wim Wenders, focusing on the life and goals of Pope Francis, the 266th and current Pope and sovereign of the Vatican City State. A Swiss-Italian-French-German co-production, the film premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United States on May 18, 2018.

Pope Francis: A Man of His Word
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWim Wenders
Produced by
  • Samanta Gandolfi Branca
  • Alessandro Lo Monaco
  • Andrea Gambetta
  • Wim Wenders
  • David Rosier
Screenplay by
  • Wim Wenders
  • David Rosier
Starring
Music byLaurent Petitgand
CinematographyLisa Rinzler
Edited byMaxine Goedicke
Production
company
  • The Palindrome
  • Centro Televisivo Vaticano
  • Célestes Images
  • Solares Fondazione delle arti
  • Neue Road Movies
  • Decia Films
  • Fondazione Solares Suisse
  • PTS Art's Factory
Distributed byFocus Features
Release date
  • May 13, 2018 (2018-05-13) (Cannes)
  • May 18, 2018 (2018-05-18) (United States)
  • June 14, 2018 (2018-06-14) (Germany)
  • September 12, 2018 (2018-09-12) (France)
Running time
96 minutes
Country
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Switzerland
LanguageEnglish[1]
Box office$8.6 million[2]

Premise

Following Pope Francis as he tries to spread his words of peace in modern times.

Cast

Production

Wenders said the project originated when the Vatican sent him a letter in 2014 asking him to lead a project about Pope Francis. While Wenders shot the interview sessions with Francis, as well as the re-enactments and everything around the city of Assisi, much of the rest of the film was stock footage from TV stations and the Vatican archives; he received final cut privilege on the project.[3]

Reception

Box office

Pope Francis: A Man of His Word grossed $2 million in the United States and Canada, and $6.5 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $8.5 million.[2]

The film began its limited release on May 18, 2018 and over its opening weekend grossed $507,870 from 346 theaters, finishing 16th at the box office.[4]

The film was released on August 10, 2018 in the UK.[5]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 77 reviews, and an average rating of 6.84/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Pope Francis - A Man of His Word offers a compelling look at the pontiff's ideas and message, even if its distance from the man means it won't win many new converts."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7] Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film a 92% overall positive score, with 82% saying they would definitely recommend it.[4]

Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com wrote that the film is like "a non-denominational sermon, under the cinematic care of an artist first, Pope Francis fanboy second." Comparing it to previous documentaries about global warming, he also wrote that it is "a food-for-thought doc that wholly justifies its existence."[8]

References

  1. "Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (PG) - BBFC". British Board of Film Classification. November 26, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  2. "Pope Francis - A Man of His Word (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  3. Heaton, Michael (May 19, 2018). "Wim Wenders on his documentary 'Pope Francis: A Man of His Word'". Cleveland.com. Advance Local Media. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  4. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 20, 2018). "'Deadpool 2' Swinging In As Second-Best Opening For R-Rated Pic With $125M". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  5. "How Pope Francis became a movie star". Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  6. "Pope Francis - A Man of His Word (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  7. "Pope Francis - A Man of His Word Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  8. Allen, Nick (May 18, 2018). "Pope Francis: A Man of His Word". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
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