“Do you know Tinder? “. Seemingly innocuous, the question becomes totally surreal when it is addressed… to the pope. With its documentary “Conversation with the Pope”, Disney + is betting on confronting Jorge Bergoglio – better known by his pontifical name Francis – with ten young people aged 20 to 25 with varied backgrounds and faiths, selected from among 150 young adults from around the world. .
The explosive exchange between these two worlds may come as a surprise, but gives a breath of modernity to an institution often perceived as dusty. The 80-minute documentary, directed by Jordi Évole and Màrius Sanchez from a four-hour cinematic conversation, was shot in June 2022 in the popular district of Pigneto, in Rome. A not trivial choice of place: Pigneto is the new trendy district of alternative Rome, where coexist street art, Trendy bars and LGBTQ nightclubs… a far cry from the Vatican vibe. Faced with a curious youth, the 266th pope lends itself to the game, often pushed to its limits.
The sequel after the ad
Deep respect without veneration
Together, the 86-year-old Argentinian Jesuit and his companions for a day – Catholics, atheists or Muslims – evoke a multitude of subjects relating to our current society. Almost everything goes there: abortion, homosexuality, feminism, gender identity, doubt in religion, migration crisis, xenophobia or even mental health. Cheerfully breaking distance and taboos on sometimes serious and worrying subjects, the documentary also tackles more unexpected themes, such as when a creator of pornographic content talks about her relationship to masturbation. Regularly, the questions lead to rich debates, in particular on the management of cases of pedocrime.
« We treated him with less reverence than he’s used to (…) We use a sense of humor, sarcasm to create a relationship of trust and openness » explain to the AFP the scénariste Màrius Sanchez.
If for some the emotion is too strong in narrating their personal journey, none take the tweezers when addressing the sovereign pontiff, even if it means using familiarity with him or openly questioning the attitude of the Catholic Church. “What do you think of church members or priests who promote hate and use the Bible to support hate speech? »asks Celia, who asserts herself as a non-binary person. “These people are infiltrators who use the Church for their personal passions, for their personal narrowness”, criticizes the pope. A freedom of tone that contrasts with the traditional speeches of the Holy Father.
An outdated or state-of-the-art pope?
Far from being scandalized by his young interlocutors, who are mostly from South America, Francis maintains his usual positions of openness towards sexual orientation and gender identity while recalling with difficulty the position of the Church on abortion or women’s denial of access to the priesthood. Without convincing his audience, the pope nevertheless opens the discussion, breaks the ice. In lighter sequences filled with jokes, we discover a Pope Francis leaning, in the course of confidences, on his personal life. The former archbishop of Buenos Aires explains that he does not have a mobile phone. “I am a bit anachronistic”, he admits. As for his Twitter accounts, followed by some 54 million people, “it is my secretaries who manage them”he smiles.
“The objective was to bring together two universes that do not usually communicate and to see one of the most influential people on the planet interact with a group of young people whose way of life sometimes clashes head on with the principles of Church “say the directors.
Available this Wednesday, April 5, the week before Easter, the Disney + program is part of a highlight of the Christian calendar. A few days after François was hospitalized for bronchitis, the documentary exposes a new facet of the man who celebrated his 10 years in office. Publicity stunt or pope in trendy mode? Who knows. In any case, François seems to want to capture the world’s youth.
