We Have a Pope (Habemus Papam)

After targeting the eccentric political power games of Berlusconi in The Caiman (2006), Italian director Nanni Moretti parodies the hermetic inner workings of the Vatican in We Have a Pope. Perfectly-cast veteran actor Michel Piccoli plays the newly-elected Il Papa who suffers a panic attack and pulls out of all his public and private commitments. As the faithful await his appearance in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican staff summon a renowned, atheist psychoanalyst (Moretti) to save the day. But the new Pope has no intention of going anywhere near the public balcony and retreats into the streets of Rome.