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A Man Named John (1965)
Director: Ermanno Olmi
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Not so much a biography of Angelo Roncalli as an attempt to evoke the aura of his life and the paths that led to his becoming the much-loved Pope John XXIII, Olmi's film uses Rod Steiger as a 'mediator'. Steiger, in other words, lends his presence as commentator, occasionally stands in for the Pope, gazes benignly at the small boy who represents the pontiff as a small boy. With Steiger reflecting a sort of conventional awe, it is perhaps small surprise that what emerges from this jigsaw portrait is pretty much a pious homage. Olmi's quirkish hand and eye as a film-maker are really evident only in the early sequences, shot in delicate colours almost like fairytale illustrations, which conjure the quaintly rustic surroundings in which the future Pope grew up.Author: TM
Cast & crew
Director: Ermanno Olmi
Producer: Vincenzo Labella
Cast: Rod Steiger, Adolfo Celi, Rita Bertocchi, Pietro Gelmi, Antonio Bertocchi full cast
Duration: 90 mins
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