The New Pope (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - Episode #1.7 - full transcript
THE NEW POPE
Episode 7
Let go of me !
Let go of me !
Let go of me !
His Eminence Voiello knew about it,
but he looked the other way.
Not me.
I'm curious about something,
Eminence.
What does it feel like
not to feel anything ?
- Are you trying to intimidate me ?
- I don't need to.
You're already intimidated by me
and do you know why ?
Because you're
incredibly turned on by me.
Just try and deny it,
you little whore !
- What are they doing ?
- They don't want to let us hear him.
Why ?
Because they want to kill
Pius XIII.
I know Lenny.
Pius XIII is a living saint.
And in the Vatican,
saints are an inconvenient presence.
Except for the Doctor
and the nun,
no one should know he woke up
until I say so.
You called me.
I came back.
Now tell me why.
- Hi, what do you want ?
- I'd like to eat something.
Are you mad ? It's Ramadan.
Listen...
Come back tonight.
What's your name ?
- Faisal.
- Hi. I'm Ahmed.
- How long did I sleep ?
- Twelve months.
And I certainly deserve
a Cherry Coke Zero.
You do know
it's a miracle that you woke up ?
Please !
Let's not start that again.
- What is your name, Sister ?
- Pamela.
A name right out of a TV series.
And was it you who watched over me
all this time ?
- Yes, every night.
- And what did you do all night ?
I would look at you and pray.
And when I fell asleep,
I would dream I was praying...
For you.
And what did you ask for
in your prayers ?
- That you would wake up.
- Maybe it was you, then.
God listens
to those who are close by.
Thank you, Sister Pamela,
for watching over me.
It was a gift from heaven,
Holy Father.
Right, it's true !
I'm the pope.
YOU HAVE KILLED PIUS XIII
You'll have to fill me in on what has
been happening these past few months.
Ok.
Ewa, dear, we have a guest.
I gave the servants a few days off.
That way no one will see you.
Luckily, we're the same size.
I can't wait to wear
my papal vestments again.
Doctor, what is wrong
with your wife ?
Health wise ? Nothing.
She's suffering, that's all.
- We all suffer.
- She more than most.
She cannot bring herself
to accept the inscrutable will of God.
She looks like the Madonna.
One of the reasons
I fell in love with her.
We're both devout Catholics
and before she was a happy Madonna,
now she's a grieving one.
Do you have children ?
I'd like to show you around
my home.
This is one of the most beautiful
houses in all of Venice.
Everyone said: don't buy it.
It's cursed, they said,
but I don't believe in superstitions,
which are antithetical to God.
Even if everything pushes us
to believe they're true.
That didn't stop you, though.
- From desiring the house ?
- No.
From desiring your son.
Even though,
the tests showed he was ill.
However, you and your wife
do not go against God,
you go toward life.
And your wife refused
to terminate the pregnancy.
You know everything.
What are you ?
A Guru ? A saint ?
Neither of the two.
I am simply an intuitive man.
Many of us are.
There are so many things
I'd like to ask you.
You'd be disappointed.
I don't have any answers.
I quit when I got pregnant.
Good for you.
Now you can start up again.
It's nice to smoke.
No, it's not nice.
It's right.
You're in perfect health.
Everything is perfect.
- And inexplicable.
- An absolute scientific exception.
Nonsense. Absolute scientific
exceptions do not exist.
Thank you for the hospitality,
and for agreeing to hide me here.
You're welcome to stay
as long as you like.
Sooner or later,
I have to go home, to the Vatican.
And what are you waiting for ?
First...
I want to understand.
The world has not forgotten you.
The world loves you.
That's not the point.
What is, then ?
In what way does the world love me,
from now on ?
Now that you,
when you face questions from the press,
won't be able to explain,
scientifically,
how I woke up from a coma ?
Do you know my greatest desire,
right now ?
No, what ?
To go for a walk.
With the proper precautions,
we can give it a try.
Venice is quite deserted in January.
The tourists aren't around and the
locals have been gone for years.
Are you all right, Doctor ?
Your Holiness,
you rose from the dead.
I did not ask for this.
I did not ask for this.
My husband has no courage.
He hasn't asked you
what I begged him to ask,
so I want to ask you myself.
You, on the other hand,
are courageous. That's clear.
I have nothing left to lose.
Have you never asked yourself
why your husband has no courage ?
No.
Because, unlike you,
he has something to lose...
You. He's afraid of losing you.
- I will always be at his side.
- No. It's not how it works.
When one thing changes,
everything changes.
Do you have
any evening dresses ?
You'd look magnificent
in an evening dress.
That bathrobe, on the other hand,
doesn't suit you.
I have beautiful dresses.
But I haven't worn them in 11 years,
not since my son was born.
Why did you ask ?
Because if things were to change,
if you would start
wearing those dresses again,
and your husband
would not be by your side.
He may kill himself.
No man can allow soft luxury
of losing a woman like you.
That's how things change.
And that's why he is afraid.
No. It's not the way it is.
Yes, it is. I know it is.
While you were in a coma,
a woman named Ester spoke on TV.
- She said...
- I know what she said.
And I know what you wanted to ask.
I didn't do anything for Ester
and I won't do anything for you,
because I am unable to help you.
You're right. Things change.
And if my son were to get better,
I wouldn't have any more reason
to live in a bathrobe,
and my husband wouldn't have
any more reason to fear losing me.
We would be what we wanted to be
in the beginning. A happy family !
- Then never cease praying.
- You are !
You see me as a shortcut.
As an impossible dream.
You are a saint,
and you performed a miracle:
Ester got pregnant.
Then, on TV, a priest,
he wanted to remain anonymous,
said that in the Vatican, you performed
a miracle when you were a boy, too.
You cured your friend's mother,
who was terminally ill, like my son.
Then, you rose from the dead.
That's what my husband told me,
and he's a scientist, one of the most
famous cardiologists in the world.
You weren't supposed to wake up
or rather you couldn't wake up.
- And yet you did.
- I am not a saint.
I did not rise from the dead
and I do not perform miracles, ma'am.
- I am just the pope.
- No. No, you're not. Not anymore.
My husband
was cowardly about that as well.
What are you saying ?
Nine months
after you fell into the coma,
they elected Tommaso Viglietti,
Francis II.
He didn't last long. Then they elected
John Brannox, John Paul III.
Try to cure my son.
You are no longer the pope.
You're beyond that.
You are a saint.
If you rose from the dead,
you are Christ.
If you have returned,
you are the Messiah.
I beg you,
try to cure my son !
- No.
- Try to cure my son. He's suffering.
He has been bedridden
since the day he was born.
He knows nothing and no one,
not even us, his parents.
I am no longer alive.
My husband is no longer alive.
We're dead, in a dead house,
in a dead city.
I believe in God and I know
I need to be able to read the signs.
You came here, that's a sign. But you
know all this far better than I do.
You believe in God, but you're not
very versed in theology.
You're delirious.
I am not Christ,
nor am I the Messiah.
It's more likely
that I am the Antichrist.
In truth,
I have only woken up from a coma.
And medical science doesn't know
how to explain it yet. That's all.
You want to save your son ?
Then continue to pray.
I have run out of prayers.
I don't believe in God any more.
God can fuck off !
I only believe in you.
And you have a moral obligation
to save my son !
Let's go !
Why ?
Because they have killed Pius XIII.
There's no more reason for us to stay.
- How can you be so sure ?
- Ester said so.
It's true. They killed him.
I know. I feel it !
- Let's go.
- Go where ?
To purify ourselves.
Whoever believes in me
should follow me.
I was hoping I'd find you here.
You scared me.
I didn't know where you were.
Put this on !
I needed another walk.
Will you ever be able
to forgive my wife ?
She's the one
who will need to forgive me.
No, of course she forgives you.
Please, accept my apologies
on her behalf.
She's... she is worn out,
wasting away, like a candle.
And I'm afraid.
At times, I worry
that she's on the verge of insanity.
I am terrified.
In centuries past,
bad things happened in our palazzo:
murders and suicides.
At night, every night,
when I can't sleep,
I'm thinking to myself:
it's going to happen again.
- History is going to repeat itself.
- No.
It's not going to happen this time.
Venice is beautiful,
but Rome is my home.
Even though
I'm no longer the pope.
I hope there is still a bed
for me there, somewhere.
You want to go back to Rome ?
Shall I call someone ?
No.
Not yet.
Let's go.
- Go where ?
- I wanna meet your son.
He has type 1
congenital myotonic dystrophy.
A progressive,
irreversible loss of muscle tone,
impaired development,
endocrine alterations,
congenital heart defect,
cognitive deficit.
Even the most minor cardiac arrhythmia
could prove fatal.
- I would like to stroke his cheek.
- Of course. He'd like that.
Even though
he won't be able to express it.
I will know,
I will know regardless.
What is he saying to him ?
I don't know.
Never before
have we seen anything like this.
A vile, treacherous attack against
the very heart of the Catholic Church.
The Basilica was empty when the
dynamite attack occurred last night.
There are no victims, but numerous
works of art have been damaged,
including Michelangelo's Pieta', which
reportedly has suffered serious damage.
There are unconfirmed
reports that two young men,
an Egyptian and a Syrian
seen early hanging around the Vatican,
were taken into custody
immediately following the explosion.
Nor the Pope John Paul III,
nor the new Secretary of State,
Cardinal Mario Assente,
has released
any sort of statement.
The silence on the part of the Holy See
is already cause for heavy criticism.
Come in !
What is it ?
I would like to apologize.
You two are going out tonight.
Excuse me ?
Tonight, you and your husband
are going to get dressed up
and you are going out,
take the evening off.
It doesn't matter where you go.
But tonight, you are going out.
- Why ?
- Because you need it.
I will watch over your son for you.
Okay.
What is your son's name ?
Arek.
Good.
I'll stay with Arek.
What did you say to him yesterday,
when you whispered in his ear ?
I described heaven to him,
down to the tiniest detail.
You know what heaven is like ?
Yes I do.
I'd forgotten that in January,
not a single restaurant
is open here in Venice.
We've already had one miracle tonight.
We're out.
I can't even remember
the last time that happened.
When we first met,
we used to go out every night.
I wanted to show you Venice,
before we got married.
Yeah, that was a special time.
Do you remember
the first time we met ?
Of course I remember.
You were wearing a tux then, too.
And you were very charming.
I remember I said: "My name
is Helmer Lindegard, I'm a doctor,"
and you came back
with an extraordinary retort.
You put on a mysterious smile
and you said:
"Know that I will need
a lot of care."
Game over.
There was no turning back.
I was head over heels
from that point on.
I used to be good
at coming up with witty retorts.
When you're young,
you believe blindly in your own vanity.
Then that night,
in Saint Mark's Square,
I snuck a peek at you
as you walked.
I'll never see another woman
walk like that as long as I live.
And I said to myself:
"When she stops walking,
I'll ask her to marry me."
You'd never seen
a model walk before.
And I said: "Yes, I want
to marry you too, Doctor."
Just like that.
How crazy was I !
Shall we go home ?
I'm worried about Arek.
Yes, let's go home.
Now Lord,
you and I must talk.
You and I
must talk about Arek.
Make him a man, Lord.
Make him a man, Lord.
I will intercede,
but you must act.
Make him a man.
Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord.
Wait here...
And look.
I do not perform miracles.
I simply find myself
at the center of coincidences.
Time for your bath, Arek.
Thank you for trying.
I imagine you would like
to go back to Rome now.
No. It's still not time.
Our hatred is concrete.
Our enemy is obvious.
It's Iblis.
It's the Christian, the crusader.
And as the Koran says:
I will fill Hell with you all,
you and all those after you.
Sit down, Sofia !
What is happening is bigger than I am.
I need some advice.
- I know.
- Would you help me ?
I am retired, now.
I am out of the game.
- Can't we pretend ?
- Pretend what ?
That you're still
the Secretary of State ?
Just for ten minutes.
Please !
You're the most intelligent man
the Church has ever known.
I make a brilliant gardener as well.
Girolamo and I tried grafting a nun's
orchid with a rose of Bethlehem,
and it worked.
Don Mimmo was skeptical,
but he had to eat his words.
Right, Don Mimmo ?
So, Sofia,
what seems to be the problem ?
Since the attack,
the pope has given up.
He is poorly advised.
The problem is that it has become
impossible to advise him.
He has holed himself up
in his apartment
and refuses to speak with anyone.
He has fallen
into a deep depression.
All he does is weep over
the death of his dog.
He said it himself,
he is a piece of fragile porcelain.
- What can I do ?
- You can weaken the strong.
I've been doing that
my whole life.
But there is one thing
you can not do.
- What's that ?
- Given the strength to the fragile.
And so ?
And so there is only one thing
left to do.
- Ride John Paul III's weakness.
- What do you mean ?
Facing you is a man who is worthless.
A man without merits.
I'm indolent, I'm pompous,
I am irresponsible,
I am conceited,
I'm a disappointment,
I am undistinguished thespian,
I'm a weak man,
and I am a drug addict.
- Holy Father...
- Please, let me finish.
You and I must talk now.
Yes, Lord,
you and I must talk about Arek.
Life is life.
I know, I'm going
where you would rather I didn't.
But I am asking you:
make him a man.
Make him a man.
I will intercede, but you must act.
Make him a man.
I told you. Make him a man.
Make him a man !
Make him a man.
Have you read "The Middle Way" ?
The summation of my thinking ?
- Did you like it ?
- Like it ? Who didn't !
It is what is guiding us all
in these difficult times.
It is a masterpiece.
True, it is a masterpiece.
But I did not write it.
What are you saying, Holy Father ?
My brother Adam wrote it
and he died before he could publish it.
So I did,
and claimed it as my own.
I am an imposter, Gutierrez.
Make him a man.
Make him a man.
Make him a man now !
Make him a man now, Lord.
Make him a man, Lord.
I will not wait another second,
make him a man !
Make him a man now.
Lord, make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord.
Make him a man. Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord, now.
Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord,
make him a man.
Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord.
Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord.
Make him a man now !
- Have you finished, Holy Father ?
- Is that not enough ?
No, it is not enough
to not be forgiven.
God saves us, always.
God does not deny anyone
the grace of salvation.
It is the most beautiful thing
there is.
We love vanity and sin.
We love deprivation
and wickedness.
So we believe
that God has abandoned us.
That God does not like us.
But God
does not manage our lives.
He does not correct our weaknesses.
God does not stop our hand,
when it plunges into sin.
No.
All He does is save us.
In the end, God saves us.
And He saves us with a kiss.
Just like with Moses.
Holy Father...
What is Heaven like ?
Exactly like here,
the same life as here on earth,
for each of us.
Except, it's not the same.
Why ?
Because in heaven
we glimpse God.
And Arek ?
Will he go to heaven ?
Yeah.
This is his place.
And now the time has come.
For what ?
To return to Rome.
You will call the Holy See.
And speak with Gutierrez.
And when you finished
speaking with Gutierrez,
you will get your wife, and the two
of you will meet me in the ballroom.
- Why ?
- Because I'd like to say goodbye.
But first...
but first I would like
to show you a miracle.
Holy Father,
I have to tell you something.
Now...
Let's hold hands,
and close our eyes.
Episode 7
Let go of me !
Let go of me !
Let go of me !
His Eminence Voiello knew about it,
but he looked the other way.
Not me.
I'm curious about something,
Eminence.
What does it feel like
not to feel anything ?
- Are you trying to intimidate me ?
- I don't need to.
You're already intimidated by me
and do you know why ?
Because you're
incredibly turned on by me.
Just try and deny it,
you little whore !
- What are they doing ?
- They don't want to let us hear him.
Why ?
Because they want to kill
Pius XIII.
I know Lenny.
Pius XIII is a living saint.
And in the Vatican,
saints are an inconvenient presence.
Except for the Doctor
and the nun,
no one should know he woke up
until I say so.
You called me.
I came back.
Now tell me why.
- Hi, what do you want ?
- I'd like to eat something.
Are you mad ? It's Ramadan.
Listen...
Come back tonight.
What's your name ?
- Faisal.
- Hi. I'm Ahmed.
- How long did I sleep ?
- Twelve months.
And I certainly deserve
a Cherry Coke Zero.
You do know
it's a miracle that you woke up ?
Please !
Let's not start that again.
- What is your name, Sister ?
- Pamela.
A name right out of a TV series.
And was it you who watched over me
all this time ?
- Yes, every night.
- And what did you do all night ?
I would look at you and pray.
And when I fell asleep,
I would dream I was praying...
For you.
And what did you ask for
in your prayers ?
- That you would wake up.
- Maybe it was you, then.
God listens
to those who are close by.
Thank you, Sister Pamela,
for watching over me.
It was a gift from heaven,
Holy Father.
Right, it's true !
I'm the pope.
YOU HAVE KILLED PIUS XIII
You'll have to fill me in on what has
been happening these past few months.
Ok.
Ewa, dear, we have a guest.
I gave the servants a few days off.
That way no one will see you.
Luckily, we're the same size.
I can't wait to wear
my papal vestments again.
Doctor, what is wrong
with your wife ?
Health wise ? Nothing.
She's suffering, that's all.
- We all suffer.
- She more than most.
She cannot bring herself
to accept the inscrutable will of God.
She looks like the Madonna.
One of the reasons
I fell in love with her.
We're both devout Catholics
and before she was a happy Madonna,
now she's a grieving one.
Do you have children ?
I'd like to show you around
my home.
This is one of the most beautiful
houses in all of Venice.
Everyone said: don't buy it.
It's cursed, they said,
but I don't believe in superstitions,
which are antithetical to God.
Even if everything pushes us
to believe they're true.
That didn't stop you, though.
- From desiring the house ?
- No.
From desiring your son.
Even though,
the tests showed he was ill.
However, you and your wife
do not go against God,
you go toward life.
And your wife refused
to terminate the pregnancy.
You know everything.
What are you ?
A Guru ? A saint ?
Neither of the two.
I am simply an intuitive man.
Many of us are.
There are so many things
I'd like to ask you.
You'd be disappointed.
I don't have any answers.
I quit when I got pregnant.
Good for you.
Now you can start up again.
It's nice to smoke.
No, it's not nice.
It's right.
You're in perfect health.
Everything is perfect.
- And inexplicable.
- An absolute scientific exception.
Nonsense. Absolute scientific
exceptions do not exist.
Thank you for the hospitality,
and for agreeing to hide me here.
You're welcome to stay
as long as you like.
Sooner or later,
I have to go home, to the Vatican.
And what are you waiting for ?
First...
I want to understand.
The world has not forgotten you.
The world loves you.
That's not the point.
What is, then ?
In what way does the world love me,
from now on ?
Now that you,
when you face questions from the press,
won't be able to explain,
scientifically,
how I woke up from a coma ?
Do you know my greatest desire,
right now ?
No, what ?
To go for a walk.
With the proper precautions,
we can give it a try.
Venice is quite deserted in January.
The tourists aren't around and the
locals have been gone for years.
Are you all right, Doctor ?
Your Holiness,
you rose from the dead.
I did not ask for this.
I did not ask for this.
My husband has no courage.
He hasn't asked you
what I begged him to ask,
so I want to ask you myself.
You, on the other hand,
are courageous. That's clear.
I have nothing left to lose.
Have you never asked yourself
why your husband has no courage ?
No.
Because, unlike you,
he has something to lose...
You. He's afraid of losing you.
- I will always be at his side.
- No. It's not how it works.
When one thing changes,
everything changes.
Do you have
any evening dresses ?
You'd look magnificent
in an evening dress.
That bathrobe, on the other hand,
doesn't suit you.
I have beautiful dresses.
But I haven't worn them in 11 years,
not since my son was born.
Why did you ask ?
Because if things were to change,
if you would start
wearing those dresses again,
and your husband
would not be by your side.
He may kill himself.
No man can allow soft luxury
of losing a woman like you.
That's how things change.
And that's why he is afraid.
No. It's not the way it is.
Yes, it is. I know it is.
While you were in a coma,
a woman named Ester spoke on TV.
- She said...
- I know what she said.
And I know what you wanted to ask.
I didn't do anything for Ester
and I won't do anything for you,
because I am unable to help you.
You're right. Things change.
And if my son were to get better,
I wouldn't have any more reason
to live in a bathrobe,
and my husband wouldn't have
any more reason to fear losing me.
We would be what we wanted to be
in the beginning. A happy family !
- Then never cease praying.
- You are !
You see me as a shortcut.
As an impossible dream.
You are a saint,
and you performed a miracle:
Ester got pregnant.
Then, on TV, a priest,
he wanted to remain anonymous,
said that in the Vatican, you performed
a miracle when you were a boy, too.
You cured your friend's mother,
who was terminally ill, like my son.
Then, you rose from the dead.
That's what my husband told me,
and he's a scientist, one of the most
famous cardiologists in the world.
You weren't supposed to wake up
or rather you couldn't wake up.
- And yet you did.
- I am not a saint.
I did not rise from the dead
and I do not perform miracles, ma'am.
- I am just the pope.
- No. No, you're not. Not anymore.
My husband
was cowardly about that as well.
What are you saying ?
Nine months
after you fell into the coma,
they elected Tommaso Viglietti,
Francis II.
He didn't last long. Then they elected
John Brannox, John Paul III.
Try to cure my son.
You are no longer the pope.
You're beyond that.
You are a saint.
If you rose from the dead,
you are Christ.
If you have returned,
you are the Messiah.
I beg you,
try to cure my son !
- No.
- Try to cure my son. He's suffering.
He has been bedridden
since the day he was born.
He knows nothing and no one,
not even us, his parents.
I am no longer alive.
My husband is no longer alive.
We're dead, in a dead house,
in a dead city.
I believe in God and I know
I need to be able to read the signs.
You came here, that's a sign. But you
know all this far better than I do.
You believe in God, but you're not
very versed in theology.
You're delirious.
I am not Christ,
nor am I the Messiah.
It's more likely
that I am the Antichrist.
In truth,
I have only woken up from a coma.
And medical science doesn't know
how to explain it yet. That's all.
You want to save your son ?
Then continue to pray.
I have run out of prayers.
I don't believe in God any more.
God can fuck off !
I only believe in you.
And you have a moral obligation
to save my son !
Let's go !
Why ?
Because they have killed Pius XIII.
There's no more reason for us to stay.
- How can you be so sure ?
- Ester said so.
It's true. They killed him.
I know. I feel it !
- Let's go.
- Go where ?
To purify ourselves.
Whoever believes in me
should follow me.
I was hoping I'd find you here.
You scared me.
I didn't know where you were.
Put this on !
I needed another walk.
Will you ever be able
to forgive my wife ?
She's the one
who will need to forgive me.
No, of course she forgives you.
Please, accept my apologies
on her behalf.
She's... she is worn out,
wasting away, like a candle.
And I'm afraid.
At times, I worry
that she's on the verge of insanity.
I am terrified.
In centuries past,
bad things happened in our palazzo:
murders and suicides.
At night, every night,
when I can't sleep,
I'm thinking to myself:
it's going to happen again.
- History is going to repeat itself.
- No.
It's not going to happen this time.
Venice is beautiful,
but Rome is my home.
Even though
I'm no longer the pope.
I hope there is still a bed
for me there, somewhere.
You want to go back to Rome ?
Shall I call someone ?
No.
Not yet.
Let's go.
- Go where ?
- I wanna meet your son.
He has type 1
congenital myotonic dystrophy.
A progressive,
irreversible loss of muscle tone,
impaired development,
endocrine alterations,
congenital heart defect,
cognitive deficit.
Even the most minor cardiac arrhythmia
could prove fatal.
- I would like to stroke his cheek.
- Of course. He'd like that.
Even though
he won't be able to express it.
I will know,
I will know regardless.
What is he saying to him ?
I don't know.
Never before
have we seen anything like this.
A vile, treacherous attack against
the very heart of the Catholic Church.
The Basilica was empty when the
dynamite attack occurred last night.
There are no victims, but numerous
works of art have been damaged,
including Michelangelo's Pieta', which
reportedly has suffered serious damage.
There are unconfirmed
reports that two young men,
an Egyptian and a Syrian
seen early hanging around the Vatican,
were taken into custody
immediately following the explosion.
Nor the Pope John Paul III,
nor the new Secretary of State,
Cardinal Mario Assente,
has released
any sort of statement.
The silence on the part of the Holy See
is already cause for heavy criticism.
Come in !
What is it ?
I would like to apologize.
You two are going out tonight.
Excuse me ?
Tonight, you and your husband
are going to get dressed up
and you are going out,
take the evening off.
It doesn't matter where you go.
But tonight, you are going out.
- Why ?
- Because you need it.
I will watch over your son for you.
Okay.
What is your son's name ?
Arek.
Good.
I'll stay with Arek.
What did you say to him yesterday,
when you whispered in his ear ?
I described heaven to him,
down to the tiniest detail.
You know what heaven is like ?
Yes I do.
I'd forgotten that in January,
not a single restaurant
is open here in Venice.
We've already had one miracle tonight.
We're out.
I can't even remember
the last time that happened.
When we first met,
we used to go out every night.
I wanted to show you Venice,
before we got married.
Yeah, that was a special time.
Do you remember
the first time we met ?
Of course I remember.
You were wearing a tux then, too.
And you were very charming.
I remember I said: "My name
is Helmer Lindegard, I'm a doctor,"
and you came back
with an extraordinary retort.
You put on a mysterious smile
and you said:
"Know that I will need
a lot of care."
Game over.
There was no turning back.
I was head over heels
from that point on.
I used to be good
at coming up with witty retorts.
When you're young,
you believe blindly in your own vanity.
Then that night,
in Saint Mark's Square,
I snuck a peek at you
as you walked.
I'll never see another woman
walk like that as long as I live.
And I said to myself:
"When she stops walking,
I'll ask her to marry me."
You'd never seen
a model walk before.
And I said: "Yes, I want
to marry you too, Doctor."
Just like that.
How crazy was I !
Shall we go home ?
I'm worried about Arek.
Yes, let's go home.
Now Lord,
you and I must talk.
You and I
must talk about Arek.
Make him a man, Lord.
Make him a man, Lord.
I will intercede,
but you must act.
Make him a man.
Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord.
Wait here...
And look.
I do not perform miracles.
I simply find myself
at the center of coincidences.
Time for your bath, Arek.
Thank you for trying.
I imagine you would like
to go back to Rome now.
No. It's still not time.
Our hatred is concrete.
Our enemy is obvious.
It's Iblis.
It's the Christian, the crusader.
And as the Koran says:
I will fill Hell with you all,
you and all those after you.
Sit down, Sofia !
What is happening is bigger than I am.
I need some advice.
- I know.
- Would you help me ?
I am retired, now.
I am out of the game.
- Can't we pretend ?
- Pretend what ?
That you're still
the Secretary of State ?
Just for ten minutes.
Please !
You're the most intelligent man
the Church has ever known.
I make a brilliant gardener as well.
Girolamo and I tried grafting a nun's
orchid with a rose of Bethlehem,
and it worked.
Don Mimmo was skeptical,
but he had to eat his words.
Right, Don Mimmo ?
So, Sofia,
what seems to be the problem ?
Since the attack,
the pope has given up.
He is poorly advised.
The problem is that it has become
impossible to advise him.
He has holed himself up
in his apartment
and refuses to speak with anyone.
He has fallen
into a deep depression.
All he does is weep over
the death of his dog.
He said it himself,
he is a piece of fragile porcelain.
- What can I do ?
- You can weaken the strong.
I've been doing that
my whole life.
But there is one thing
you can not do.
- What's that ?
- Given the strength to the fragile.
And so ?
And so there is only one thing
left to do.
- Ride John Paul III's weakness.
- What do you mean ?
Facing you is a man who is worthless.
A man without merits.
I'm indolent, I'm pompous,
I am irresponsible,
I am conceited,
I'm a disappointment,
I am undistinguished thespian,
I'm a weak man,
and I am a drug addict.
- Holy Father...
- Please, let me finish.
You and I must talk now.
Yes, Lord,
you and I must talk about Arek.
Life is life.
I know, I'm going
where you would rather I didn't.
But I am asking you:
make him a man.
Make him a man.
I will intercede, but you must act.
Make him a man.
I told you. Make him a man.
Make him a man !
Make him a man.
Have you read "The Middle Way" ?
The summation of my thinking ?
- Did you like it ?
- Like it ? Who didn't !
It is what is guiding us all
in these difficult times.
It is a masterpiece.
True, it is a masterpiece.
But I did not write it.
What are you saying, Holy Father ?
My brother Adam wrote it
and he died before he could publish it.
So I did,
and claimed it as my own.
I am an imposter, Gutierrez.
Make him a man.
Make him a man.
Make him a man now !
Make him a man now, Lord.
Make him a man, Lord.
I will not wait another second,
make him a man !
Make him a man now.
Lord, make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord.
Make him a man. Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord, now.
Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord,
make him a man.
Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord.
Make him a man.
Make him a man, Lord.
Make him a man now !
- Have you finished, Holy Father ?
- Is that not enough ?
No, it is not enough
to not be forgiven.
God saves us, always.
God does not deny anyone
the grace of salvation.
It is the most beautiful thing
there is.
We love vanity and sin.
We love deprivation
and wickedness.
So we believe
that God has abandoned us.
That God does not like us.
But God
does not manage our lives.
He does not correct our weaknesses.
God does not stop our hand,
when it plunges into sin.
No.
All He does is save us.
In the end, God saves us.
And He saves us with a kiss.
Just like with Moses.
Holy Father...
What is Heaven like ?
Exactly like here,
the same life as here on earth,
for each of us.
Except, it's not the same.
Why ?
Because in heaven
we glimpse God.
And Arek ?
Will he go to heaven ?
Yeah.
This is his place.
And now the time has come.
For what ?
To return to Rome.
You will call the Holy See.
And speak with Gutierrez.
And when you finished
speaking with Gutierrez,
you will get your wife, and the two
of you will meet me in the ballroom.
- Why ?
- Because I'd like to say goodbye.
But first...
but first I would like
to show you a miracle.
Holy Father,
I have to tell you something.
Now...
Let's hold hands,
and close our eyes.