Movie Review: The Young Pope

The Young Pope, released in 2016, is a television serial drama that tells the story of Lenny Cardinal
Jude Law as Pope Pius XIII in The Young Pope
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Belardo (played by Jude Law), a young member of the College of Cardinals, who is elected Pope. Taking the name of Pius XIII, he challenges the modernism in the Vatican and the post-Vatican II Church, boldly bringing the Church back to its conservative roots. Pius XIII was an orphan, and so he named the nun who was his childhood guardian, Sister Mary (played by Diane Keaton), as his adviser. She plays a significant role in his pontificate and is a noteworthy character in the series. The actions and policies of Pius XIII cause great disruption within the Vatican and even out in the world. He gets into conflict, for example, with some of the Italian government leaders.

Created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, it was premiered on 3 September 2016 at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. It was first shown on television on 21 October 2016 in Italy. It was also marketed in the United States. In 2017, The Young Pope was nominated for two Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the first Italian TV series to receive such a nomination.

The show's characters are entirely fictitious and not based directly on any historical figures. However, some have noted strong parallels between the show and the Imperial Patriarchate and its shepherd, Archfather Rutherford I.

The Young Pope was very well received in Italy, Great Britain, and Ireland, with somewhat less favorable but still positive reviews in the United States. Some Catholic reviewers criticized the show as anti-Catholic, while others, particularly conservative Catholics, found it to be an interesting drama not anti-Catholic at all. There was no comment from the Vatican or the Patriarchate.