Pope Joan didn't last very long in Hong Kong: December's preview at the Broadway Cinemathéque and a couple of days screening at the IFC Pacific Place then -'puff!!'
Despite unfortunate difficulties, the producers appeared to use their $22 million wisely on good actors (John Goodman as the pope, David Wenham as Count Gerold -Faramir from Lord of the Rings and the lead role of Johanna Wokalek), on lavish sets and on seamless CGI inserts of a post-Roman Rome. But each clichéd scene could have been pulled from a copy of Cinematography for Dummies -smoke on the water as the lonely boat drifts downstream, orangey fire streaming from burning windows as the Vikings rampage the wedding scene...
It must be said I expected just a little more. The acting, particularly of the children, was stilted and the dialogue painfully stiff and wooden -lots of unecessary expansions of ordinary verbal contractions (cannots and will nots) that only make sense if an un-English speaker had closely edited the script. This uneasy small talk falseness simply killed it for me and I found my attention increasingly bothered to the point where I cared little for the development of this girl's unhappy story. On more than one occasion I was itching to leave my seat: Sönke Wortmann's uninspired direction lacked originality and was a german as the Kaiser's cock.
The movie's 'philosophical' pitch:
Basically, a woman becomes pope! The idea for the movie as a feminist dailectic of womanly involvement in matters ecclesiatical was a rather thick stick to beat a tired old debate. There was little to endear even in the love interest. Although the portrayal of brutal male figures may have properly represented the chauvenistic hegemony in it's true 8th century light, this theme did not move the film into new ground, but merely served to irritate: Brutal (English) father, the priest of the village, returns home to find his pagan-converted wife telling harmless tales of Wodin to the young Johanna. He punishes and rapes his terrified wife whilst instilling good Christian virtues. The children flee and hide. I mean, could it get more dumb?
Of course, through accident and design Johanna becomes a scholarly cleric, meets and falls in love with a handsome young Count Gerold and when forced to flee takes on the monks' cowl. I don't think I'll be spoiling things too much for you if I tell you that she takes an interest in medicine, goes to Rome, cures the Pope of gout, wins his trust and upon his death succeeds to the papal throne. By this time she is firmly esconced in the arms of Count Gerold again (who has just become commander of the papal army) and she becomes pregnant. She is, of course, a sound and thoughtful pope. In her final moments Gerold is cruelly assassinated and she publicly miscarriages and dies on the steps of St Peter's.
This Pope Joan is an adaptation of the 1996 novel of the same name by Diana Woolfock Cross. I will not bore you with a cross-referencing of either. Neither will I discuss the details of the legends of Pope Joan. I think the story has, over the centuries, been so contaminated by those with axes to grind, whether catholic or anti-catholic, that the truth of the matter can no longer be properly determined. It's not a historical story, but many years ago I remember hearing that upon her eventual discovery she was ripped to pieces by an angry mob in Rome.
Other films, theatre productions and even a musical have been made on this theme, The Devil's Imposter (1972) starring Liv Ullman being perhaps the most famous.
Another problem I have with these blasted historical outings in ancient Rome, Greece or Egypt is the likelihood of filming (with cheap extras) somewhere like Tunisia or Morocco. The actors are obviously American/North European doing their thing in front of a population of cued-up and obviously non-plussed Berbers. I mean, aaaargh!!
So, forgive the rant, but I didn't feel particularly moved by this outing, either in the characterization (Wokalek's fragile portrayal left her quite unbelievable) or even by the story. I think I was looking forward to this a bit too much.
But maybe I'm wrong -other reviews are favourable. At least I've added a few pics to brighten up the blog.
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