Has anyone seen this movie?
Yeah, I watched it. Last night. Curiosity got the better of Mrs. Bonaventure and myself, so we decided to rent it on-demand for $7. Suffice it to say, it was a waste of $7... and a waste of 1hr-44mins.
The movie takes place in 1920 just as Padre Pio is arriving at a Capuchin monastery in Italy's San Giovanni Rotondo. Despite its title, Padre Pio's character is only seen in about 1/3 of the movie, with the other 2/3 focused on a small group of townspeople, some of whom are soldiers just returning from some war (TBH, my knowledge of Italian history ain't all that great, and to really appreciate what was going in the movie, some background info on this would've been helpful). Turns out some of the soldiers (and the town's mayor) are landowners, whereas most of everyone else is not. These two competing storylines make the movie hard to follow, as there is little relation between what is going on with Padre Pio (many of his scenes are him dealing with demons) and what is going on with the townspeople. The only intertwining these two apparently independent, but competing, storly lines have is when a few of the townspeople are seen attending Mass and receiving Holy Eucharist from Padre Pio.
In any event, the townspeople storyline is really about the sympathetic socialists/communists making a foothold within the community, sparred against the non-sympathetic landowners (whom I'm guessing are supposed to be those who two years down the road are the fascists supporting Mussolini).
The scenes with Padre Pio vary. Some, especially those where Padre Pio is saying Mass, are good. Others, not so much. The two scenes that stand out, which I think have already been discussed within this thread, are a bit disturbing, to say the least. First, Padre Pio is hearing the confession (which is done outside an actual confessional, in a room where Padre Pio can see the penitent--not sure how accurate that is, but ok) of a woman who is wearing men's clothing, and says some disturbing things of a sɛҳuąƖ nature (I'll leave it at that); she doesn't seem to be all that remorseful about it, making Padre Pio angry, telling her to leave, and when she doesn't, that's when the effenheimer flys out--not only were the extent of the sins the woman was attempting to confess uncalled for, but of course so was that portrayal of Padre Pio. The second scene is of the devil who has taken the form of a completely naked woman, tempting/mocking Padre Pio. Again, have no idea why that was called for.
It is seldom that I would flat-out not recommend anyone see a movie, but this is one of those times. Even if it did not contain the parts of immodestly and sacrilege, I still wouldn't recommend it. It's slow. It's boring. The story line is confusing. And it really does not convey much of Padre Pio's life.
Topic: Shia LaBeouf to play Padre Pio! (Read 7240 times)