A Man Named John
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Time Out says
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
Release details
UK release:
1965
Duration:
90 mins
Cast and crew
Cast:
Rod Steiger, Adolfo Celi, Pietro Gelmi, Rita Bertocchi, Antonio Bertocchi
Director:
Art Director:
Screenwriter:
Ermanno Olmi, Vincenzo Labella
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