Pope Pius XII (2010)

Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky stars James Cromwell in a TV movie based on Vatican documents and testimonies about the secret actions taken by Pope Pius XII during World War II. Alessandra Mastronardi, Marco Froschi and Ettore Bassi co-stars.It is directed by Christian DuguayAfter the German soldiers occupied Rome in 1943,The Fuhrer,Adolph Hitler is ready to implement The Final Solution on the Jewish people.The screenplay features on how Pope Pius managed to save over 10,000 Jews as churches and convents in Rome were used to hide them from the Nazi soldiers.Aside from that,he also convinced high-ranking Nazi officials to cooperate with him by talking to them and touching their conscience about the evil deeds that the ordered to do.Added to that,the Pope did pray a lot and made sure that many bishops and priests fully cooperate with him.But despite all his efforts, thousands were deported to concentration camps such as Auschwitz.Added to that,it also told the story of the Jewish people before and during the German occupation of Rome.Also,we are introduced to many Jewish characters particularly Miriam and Davide,who are in love with each other and how the war affected them in way especially the former after she was captured by the Germans.James Cromwell did a wonderful job in his performance as the Venerable Pope Pius XII.He portrayed the role very as a man with courage and conviction on doing good.He practically saved the movie from average acting from his co-stars particularly the gorgeous Alessandra Mastronardi,who was definitely wooden and uninteresting in her role as Miriam. As for the TV movie,it would have been better if it was central to telling the story of Pope Pius XII and his actions especially to quiet the doubters and critics who have considered this film more of a propaganda and a history revision by the Vatican to cover-up their inaction towards the Jews.I felt that the addition of the love story between Miriam and Davide provided some sort of a distraction to the main story instead of being focused on the Pope himself and his struggles against the Germans especially with regards to the Jews.But nevertheless,I still think that the movie did a wonderful job in providing the viewer information on the great deeds and defense of the late Pope Pius XII inspite of its flaws.

In spite of being a 'foreign films' fan, I hadn't been aware of this 2 episode 2010 release until an old girl-friend brought it to my attention on Netflix live streaming. Dragged kicking and screaming into it, I eventually found myself totally captivated with the history and directing. I've always been a James Cromwell follower, even though he often plays the dirty fellow. But in this release he has absolutely nailed-down a reversal in rolls with a deeply-convincing performance. OK, so there were a few lame efforts from less-than-perfect actors, but the intent was right there in your face. And in my humble-but-most-accurate opinion, all parts were sincere and played well into the story. I thought, in my 6 decades of viewing, some of the scenes were 'world class.' Especially near the end, Part 2, with the Pope face-to-face, alone, with the German officer responsible for many of the atrocities). Up until now, I had been totally unaware of this side of the Catholic efforts during WWII in Rome (I'm a Baptist), and was amazed to find myself fascinated with the depicting of it in this most appreciable movie. I think the history of this film, and its depiction, should be viewed by all serious movie fans and historians. It's worth the kicking and screaming.

The film portrays a colorful imaginary world where the Pope was AFRAID of Hitler and didn't know what to do (really the one representative of God on earth, doesn't know what to do? Really the man chosen as representative of God on earth---AFRAID OF Hitler? AFRAID OF DEATH?) This is ridiculous. What we know from history is that Pope Pius kept quiet. He kept quiet not because he feared the Nazis, because there is nothing to fear for a true believer.He kept quiet because he approved of what the Nazis were doing.The very ambiguity and lack of clarity of the Church's actions, shows clearly that the Pope and the Nazis were in collaboration. If the Pope believed that the Jews should be defended, he would have shouted it from all the rooftops and let the Nazis crucify him just like Jesus and die a heroes death. What better way for a Pope to die as a martyr than to sacrifice himself for the good cause? It's because the Pope did NOT believe the Jews should be defended that he stayed quiet.Unfortunately, a lot of Catholic reviewers and apologists for the Pope scour the earth to repaint history in a way that made the Pope seem like a hero who just couldn't do much about the situation. These same apologists try to paint Hitler as an atheist when that is absolutely not true.Hitler was a life-long practicing member of the Catholic church till the day he died. The Nazis frequently met with the Catholic church and had agreements with them.You think if the Catholic church was afraid of dying to Nazis, that is insane. The Catholics, if they truly believed they were being persecuted would gladly sacrifice themselves and stand up to those that commit evil (like the Nazis) if they truly believed the Nazis were evil.

Regardless whether the acting and the special effects were scanty or not, the history depicted was fascinating and disturbing. Not many stories about this awful time are out there that I know of. The ruler of the Catholic Church v.s. the nazi madman. I thought the film did a good job of showing the Pope's agony over what to do. Besides the fear of Hitler's reprisals, the waffling and indecision among his own rank and file was clearly stated. The German soldiers may have been played over-the-top in their brutality and sinister doings, but how else to portray these thugs who sent thousands to their death. Even though these stories may be presented in less than a first-rate production, at least the folks that made this film brought to the screen a bit of history that needs oft to be repeated.