Pope Pius XII (2010)

Crappy film

Absolutely Brilliant!

A Disappointing Continuation

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Its very good its Based on Vatican documents and personal testimonies used for the beatification of Pope Pius XII, this epic film stars acclaimed actor James Cromwell in a powerful movie about the great, often hidden struggle waged by the Pope and many others with him to save the Jews from the Nazis during WWII. After the Nazi's take over Rome in 1943, Hitler's plan to kidnap the Pope is revealed as the Nazis make an all-out attempt to silence the one authority figure in Italy standing strong against them. Everything comes together with great intensity in this dramatic story that retraces history from the documents and the testimonies of witnesses that was not fully known til now. Pope Pius XII told senior bishops that should he be arrested by the Nazis, his resignation would become effective immediately, paving the way for a successor, according to documents in the Vatican's Secret Archives.A lot of people believe the lies of Hitler's pope. Pope Pius XII saved more Jews than anyone else in ww2 860,000 Jews he saved. According to Israeli archives, papal relief programs saved at least 860,000 Jews, more than any other agency or organization. His Holiness Pope Pius XII also allowed the Vatican diplomatic corps, which were protected by diplomatic immunity, to carry messages between the allied powers. Vatican Information Services also sent over 5 million messages for soldiers. Thousands of nun's priest were killed in ww2 helping the Jews. 3 000 000 Polish Catholics were holocaust victims. the catholic church did its best to help Jews and anyone else in ww2 . When Pope Pius XII died on October 9, 1958, Golda Meir, then Israeli delegate to the United Nations, sent official condolences: "When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the pope was raised for the victims. The life of our times was enriched by a voice speaking out on the great moral truths above the tumult of daily conflict. We mourn a great servant of peace." After the war the Chief Rabbi of Israel thanked Pius XII for what he had done. The Chief Rabbi of Rome went one step further. He became a Catholic. He took the name Eugenio. Pope Pius XII name before he was pope. The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion, which form the very foundation of true civilization, are doing for our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence in this world. (Rabbi Isaac Herzog, chief rabbi of the British Mandate of Palestine, March 1945) During the Nazi occupation of Rome, 3,000 Jews found refuge at one time at the pope's summer residence at Castle Gandolfo. Amazingly, Castle Gandolfo is never mentioned or discussed in the anti-papal writings of many of the pope's critics. Yet at no other site in Nazi-occupied Europe were as many Jews saved and sheltered for as long a period as at Castle Gandolfo during the Nazi occupation of Rome. Kosher food was provided for the Jews hidden there, where, as George Weigel has noted, Jewish children were born in the private apartments of Pius XII, which became a temporary obstetrical ward. (Rabbi David Dalin, Ph.D., July 29, 2005 interview with Dr. Thomas E. Woods) dpexecute in his review he said Hitler was a life-long practicing member of the Catholic church till the day he died. That is a lie he left the catholic church in his teens.The Nazis frequently met with the Catholic church and had agreements with them. that is a lie.The Nazis killed Several thousand of nuns and priests.

I give this film 3 stars only because it has a fairly well-dramatized screenplay, even though the story is utterly wrong in the way it portrays what Pius actually DID. There's lots of good (and recent) historical research that exposes Pius's unpious approach to dealing with Hitler. The director and writers of this film should have done some homework.Or maybe that's what they did NOT want to do? Maybe this film is a conscious propaganda effort seeking to whitewash the church's failure to oppose fascism. Pius not only did not oppose Hitler, he was in league with Mussolini! There's new research documenting that, too.All in all, I would say that this film is little more than a feel-good P.R. film for the Catholic Church. Take it for what it is.

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.