PIZZA, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING (THE TWO POPES)

Nominated for three Oscars, 'The Two Popes' is a vehicle for two of Wales' finest actors.

However the vehicle Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles drives is not as lumbering as a Popemobile but glides more like a sleek Mercedes Benz. 

It is powered by some clever casting, with Anthony Hopkins portraying the conservative German Pope Benedict and Jonathan Pryce depicting the more liberal Argentinian Jesuit Pope Francis.

It would be glib to characterise this devilishly handsome film as some sort of theological 'Batman vs Superman' tale.

The film is much more than that.

In fact, it is a rather sweet study by screenwriter Anthony McCarten of two people with different philosophies acknowledging their differences but seeing the person beyond the dogma.

At the start of Meirelles' film, Pryce's Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is summoned to the Vatican for the election of a new Pontiff following the death of John Paul II 

Hopkins' Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is the great White hope of those in the Conclave who hope he will build on Pope John Paul II's conservativism.

Bergoglio is reluctant to be the standard bearer for a more liberal, populist Church but is nevertheless cast in that mould.

Before the vote, Ratzinger drips ambition as he canvasses those around him but he is rather awkward when encountering Bergoglio.

When it comes to the vote, he sweeps to victory and becomes Pope Benedict XVI, with the Argentinian Cardinal receiving the second highest tally.

Bergoglio happily returns to Buenos Aires to continue his mission on the streets of the city.

However Benedict XVI's Papacy is quickly consumed by scandal as the Catholic Church is rocked by revelations about the mishandling of paedophile priests, dodgy practices in the Vatican Bank and the Vatican Leaks.

Football loving Cardinal Bergoglio has set his sights set on retirement when he receives a request to travel to Rome from Pope Benedict.

Travelling on to the palace of Castel Gandolfo, he expects their discussion to focus on his desire to retire.

However the German Pope keeps avoiding the subject, insisting he stays overnight and spends his time trying to understand a Cardinal who comes from a very different theological position.

Over a series of conversations, the Pontiff's intentions gradually become clear 

McCarten's Oscar nominated script is rich and entertaining, sparkling with the kind of dialogue that great actors like Pryce and Hopkins are eager to gobble up.

However the screenplay also cleverly uses flashbacks to reveal the life experiences that helped shape Bergoglio, the liberal religious leader.

Played as a younger man by the Argentine actor Juan Minujin, these moments are laced with regret as he recalls the way a romance that resulted in an engagement abruptly ended when he received his calling to join the Jesuit order.

Even more tellingly, Bergoglio is filled with shame and remorse over his failure to stand up as a senior cleric to the right wing military junta in his homeland that oppressed left wing activists and members of his own Order.

It is this willingness to confront the errors of both clerics and the failings of the Catholic Church that earns Meirelles and McCarten some credit. 

As they relay their mistakes, Benedict and Bergoglio acknowledge they have been far from infallible.

However, a warmth develops between both men from opposite ends of the theological spectrum and they are able to appreciate each other for all their flaws.

A script as good as this is like manna from Heaven for great actors and Hopkins and Pryce justify their Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor with performances that go beyond mere impersonations.

Of the two, Pryce arguably looks more like the real life character he is portraying but both brilliantly capture the physical mannerisms, tone and traits of 'The Two Popes'.

But it is the way they imbue the spirit of both Pontiffs with self doubt that really impresses.

Hopkins is touchingly hesitant, stiff and unashamedly intellectual as the classical piano playing Pontiff, who casually drops the fact that he once recorded an album in Abbey Road, the same studio as The Beatles, without really knowing a song of their's.

By way of contrast, Pryce's Bergoglio is warm, humble and naturally populist - finding pleasure in watching football, dancing the tango, humming ABBA's 'Dancing Queen', discovering great pizza and making easy  conversation with the Castel Gandolfo gardener.

While their performances understandably dominate, Minujin makes his mark as the younger Bergoglio - particularly in the sequences where he fails his fellow Jesuits by telling them they should shut down their mission for the poor because it is angering the Argentine Generals.

Lisandro Fiks also turns in a strong performance as Father Franz Jalics, a Jesuit who befriends the young Bergoglio and is eventually let down by him as Head of their Order.

Maria Ucedo is striking as Bergoglio's Paraguayan friend, Esther Ballestrino from his days as a biochemist, who also falls foul of the Generals.

Handsomely filmed by Cesar Charlone, the film is directed with typical flair by Meirelles.

But its most sublime moments are the glimpses of humanity and humility shown by Benedict and Bergoglio - the latter's conversation with the Castel Gandolfo gardener, Benedict's eagerness to play the piano for his Argentinian guest, his unexpected love of a kitschy Austrian TV show 'Komissar Rex' about a cop and his dog and the sharing of a pizza by the two clerics in the Vatican.

In an era of belligerent, bloodsport politics in the US, UK and elsewhere, Meirelles' film is a dignified appeal for more humanity and understanding.

'The Two Popes' challenges us to look beyond the arguments of those whose views we may oppose, see the human being and find common ground.

That is a massive challenge.

But, surely, we all need a little more pizza, love and understanding?

('The Two Popes' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on November 29, 2019 and was made available for streaming on Netflix on December 20, 2019)