The Young Pope, so incredible I had to google the the man to see if he was actually real ( and yes, he is, born Lenny Belardo and became Pius the 8th) is a show saturated with breathtaking imagery, a great soundtrack, sophisticated acting, thought-provoking dialogues and a raw brand of realism HBO is particularly famous for.
First impressions aside, it wasn't much of a surprise that this turned out a masterpiece since it came from director Paolo Sorrentino, who was cast into the spotlight due to winning an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film for "The Great Beauty", a tribute to Fellini. It was a subtly disturbing and frantic movie, but if I honestly were to pick a favourite, it would be the melancholy-filled and endearing "Youth" in which I was surprised to see an actress from my home country Romania, Mădălina Ghenea, playing a Miss Universe contest Winner.
Actually...it becomes less surprising by looking at her...hehe
So...ahem... back to the series, it struck me as a fascinating and bewildering combination of profane-sacred, miracle and simple mystification. Jude Law shines in his puzzling portrayal of an iconoclastic, ambiguous Holy Father who bears notes of tyranny and power hunger. Truly a must-watch!
P.S.: Youth was the only film in which I DIDN'T see Paul Dano's character getting beat up, which was funny since he's pretty badly thrashed in other famous films like "Twelve Years a Slave" or "Prisoners", and it was even to be expected he would be in trouble since in "Youth" he dresses up as Hitler...
Well, someone's looking for trouble again!