The Image of Pius XII in Modern Cinema (on the Example of the Film «Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky»)

Abstract

      The article is dedicated to the formation of the image of Pope Pius XII (1939–1958) in modern cinema. The author focuses on the film «Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky» («Sotto il cielo di Roma», 2010, directed by Christian Duguay), which tells about the story of the events during the German occupation of Rome in World War II. Besides, the article traces the evolution of the Pope’s image in cinema from the 1940s/1950s to the present day.       The first films about Pius XII appeared already during his lifetime and created a positive image of the Pope. For instance, the Italian director Romolo Marchellini portrayed the pontiff as a mediator of peace between peoples and as a «living saint». Since the 1960s a negative image of Pius XII is being formed in the cinema. The reasons are the beginning of a critical rethinking of the Nazi past and the trials of Nazi criminals, during which new details of the Holocaust were revealed. The silence of Pius XII was criticized in a number of fiction books (Rolf Hochhut, Robert Katz), which later was used as a basis of several films. Among them, the most popular is the film «Amen» (2002, directed by Costa-Gavras). The film «Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky» (2010) is one of the first attempts to overcome the negative image of Pius XII that has developed in cinema over the past years. Unlike previous films, here the pontiff is portrayed not only as a political, but also as a spiritual leader. Since the film is based on beatification documents, the Pope appears as an active defender of the Jews. This film and the features of the Pius XII’s image are analyzed in detail in the article.        It is concluded that the opening of Vatican archives on the pontificate of Pius  XII may contribute to the further development of this Pope’s image in cinema.