Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky

This is quite easily one of the best films I have seen in quite a while. A foreign television miniseries with the scope and presentation of a theatrical epic, this tells the story of Pope Pius XII and his attempts to protect countless innocents from Hitler during the Nazi occupation of Rome. Directed by skilled former Hollywood director Christian Duguay and starring the lucrative James Cromwell in a performance I can only describe as inspired, this story is extremely intriguing with well-conveyed characters, a beautiful music score, and an always-engaging presentation. Every scene which involved Pius was well-done and interesting as a man upon whose shoulders rest the lives of thousands, all depending upon what he does or says. Whenever he was not on-screen, a love-story involving two side-characters did not hold my interest to the point of investment. I found this film to be emotionally impactful and inspiring in its beautifully conveyed story which I will gladly revisit in the future.

The pope decided to go against Hitler even though he placed the church in Hitler cross hairs. He managed to outsmart him. The pope realizing that he is going against what he terms tobe the antichrist. He protected the as many Jews as possible.

James Cromwell provides a believable and outstanding performance, possibly a career apogee. This movie was recommended to me while on a Holy Land Pilgrimage last month. Although I had a negative view of Pius XII during this time period, this film provided me with the factors and realities that pressed on him, the Roman Jews, and Rome during the occupation by the Nazis in the year prior to the Allied liberation in 1944.The movie appears as a story of historical fact encased in several love stories. The story appears to stem from knew materials the Vatican has released recently that paint Pius XII as a champion of the protection of the Jews. It is a similar theme shot on location as another film I recently acquired from Amazon, Captain Corelli's Mandolin. However, the latter has the back drop of the fabulous scenery of Cephalonia, Greece.Under the Roman Sky was produced by Ignatius Press which seems to have a Roman Catholic slant but produces glowing films of this type regarding their religious icons. Whatever the true story was, this film, through the credible performance of Cromwell, creates an image of Pius II which aligns him with sainthood. Purchase this film for a good cry for humanity.

For a film that had so much going for it, this one was a real letdown, and I'm someone who's usually well disposed to this sort of Italian Catholic TV historical epic. Although it's called "Pius XII" on the American DVD release, the titular pope barely appears in this story, which is dominated by the fictionalized plight of a Roman Jewish family trying to survive the Nazi occupation of Italy in 1943. This latter story smacks of fictionalization and is fitfully interesting, but the film's biggest problem is that there are two story-lines -- one of Pius XII trying to outwit the Germans through diplomacy and one of the Roman Jews trying to survive -- that parallel each other without ever really intersecting in any meaningful way. It feels like you're watching two separate movies which coexist while remaining generally unaware of one another: The threads connecting them are extremely thin and don't even directly involve the pope as a visibly active protagonist. Furthermore, the Roman Jewish story dominates nearly every frame of this three-hour miniseries, relegating the figure of Pius XII to a minor background character for long stretches of screen time. This is unfortunate because it replaces the only good actor in the film -- James Cromwell as Pius XII -- with endless scenes of poorly dubbed Euro-actors churning through all of the usual romantic and historical cliches. Had the film been edited down to 90 minutes, removing most of the unnecessary fictionalized elements with the Jewish family, it might have gained some focus as tighter exploration of the complex historical legacy of Pius, but the film wastes time on so many unnecessary and poorly acted character scenes that it undermines its own message. It has a great star in James Cromwell and an excellent director in Christian Duguay, but both have done better work on Christian epics. Check out Cromwell as Cardinal Adam Sapieha, mentor to Cary Elwes' young Karol Wotyla, in the 2005 CBS miniseries "Pope John Paul II" for a truly moving character role. In about half the screen time, Cromwell creates his trademark sympathetic character in Sapieha without laboring, whereas in this newer film he is actually preachy -- giving self-referential lectures on human dignity to German officials and others -- to the point that the viewer may feel like enlisting in the German Army to shut him up. Cromwell is hampered by an unfocused script, but John Gielgud did a much better Pius XII as a supporting character to Gregory Peck's monsignor and Christopher Plummer's Nazi colonel in 1983's "The Scarlet and the Black," which remains the definitive portrayal of Vatican efforts to rescue the innocent during Germany's occupation of Rome. For the French Canadian director Duguay, check out his "Joan of Arc" (1999) CBS miniseries with Lelee Sobieski for his best work in this genre or even his more recent St. Augustine miniseries (due on DVD in November from Ignatius Press Films under the title of "Restless Heart") to see him at his best. Better films on similar themes include Anna Paquin in the Hallmark Hall of Fame film "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" and Ben Cross in "The Assisi Underground." This "Pius XII" film is handsomely mounted, beautifully shot, and historically authentic in appearance. It's generally watchable and will pass the time for a few hours, but dramatically and artistically it's a real dud.

Wow, what a superb portrayal of the trials and tribulations that Pope Pius XII and the Jewish people of Rome withstood under the oppression by Hitler and the Third Reich. It is truly a testimonial to the great efforts of Pope Pius XII and his priests and nuns in those terrible years of suffering. This movie evoked a great deal of reflection on me and my family and confirmed the great admiration that we have for the memory of Pope Pius XII. It brought tears to our eyes. We truly and honestly felt great compassion for the Jewish community and what they endured at the hand of Hitler's regime. But at the same time it reaffirmed our faith and attested to the helping hands of the Catholic community for the Jewish brethren. I most highly recommend it.

I was really wanted to see this film about my great hero. Sadly I didn't realise it was region 1, and not region 2.