We Have A Pope (2011)

Original title Habemus Papam

Director Nanni Moretti

After a pope dies the conclave meets in order that the cardinals may choose his successor. Several rounds of voting must take place before white smoke over the Sistine Chapel finally announces that the new pope has been elected, and before the traditional announcement from the balcony in front of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Habemus papam.” But this time around the faithful assembled in the square below, a crowd hundreds of thousands strong, wait in vain for the balcony doors to open and the new head of the Catholic Church to appear. The cardinal who has been chosen is suddenly hit with a panic attack over the responsibilities he must take on. Anxiety? Depression? Fear that he is not up to the task? The Vatican is in shock and everyone is searching for a remedy. They decide to call in an eminent psychotherapist to help solve the situation. Nanni Moretti’s film, in which he invests his very special brand of humor in the role of the psychotherapist, and the excellent Michel Piccoli plays the doubt-plagued pope, was one of the most warmly received works of the recent Cannes competition. - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival