‘In Viaggio’ Review: Gianfranco Rosi Grants Rare Insight Into The Life & Mission Of Pope Francis [Venice]

One doesn’t need to be religious to feel the impact of the words uttered by Pope Francis to never-ending crowds of faithful followers, a concept deeply understood by Gianfranco Rosi with “In Viaggio,” a decade-long chronicling of the travels of the head of the Catholic church across all corners of the world. Composed entirely of archival footage, the film grants rare access to the public life of the pontifical, not only from the elevated security of a pulpit but from the more democratic grounds of unpaved streets and vast public avenues.  

The film opens with the following disclaimer: “In the first nine years of his pontificate, Pope Francis made 37 trips visiting 53 countries, focusing on his most important issues: poverty, migration, the environment, solidarity and war.” These very same issues guide the work of Rosi, whose two latest documentaries – 2016’s Golden Bear-winning “Fire at Sea” and 2020’s “Notturno” – deal with the haunting ripples of the refugee crisis and the war in the Middle East (in fact, Rosi and Pope Francis came together after the pontiff visited the island of Lampedusa following a watch of “Fire at Sea”). The director’s grasp on the harrowing enormity of such matters aids the welcome neutrality of “In Viaggio,” a film that is less preoccupied with denouncing – or abetting – the standings of the Catholic Church than understanding the man at its helm. 

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“One must never proselytize the orthodox,” says Pope Francis at one point in the documentary. It is a sentiment that lands with earnestness thanks to Rosi’s mindful editing, the snippet presented to the viewer after the filmmaker has taken the time to establish the pontifical’s disinterest in the idea of conversion as catholicism’s foremost priority. In Canada, the Holy Father meets with Indigenous communities, taking a deep breath before issuing an apology for the role of religion in perpetuating the violent patterns of colonialism. He travels through third-world countries to tell their inhabitants that “poverty is not caused by fate,” criticizing the sociopolitical structures in which bosom catholicism comfortably lays in. In the United States, Francis is welcomed by the self-serving arms of politicians, who see the man as the walking representation of the twisted conservative values they fervently preach yet don’t live by. Their smiles fast vanish once the pontiff takes the stage to condemn the country’s participation in war and the constant refusal to address the issue of gun control. 

When in Brazil, the Pope speaks Portuguese; in Cuba, Spanish; in Congo, French, the need to communicate the sentiment behind every carefully chosen word plays second fiddle to the need to feel closer to the people. “The Church is with you, the Pope is with you,” he fervently utters from the top of a stage, pointing to the ocean of people inundating a square. He kisses the soft crown of a baby’s head and the eager hands of one of many worshippers who are moved to tears by his presence. He caresses the face of a young woman suffering from cancer and looks each and every person in the eye when hearing their stories, all human interactions rooted in unguarded empathy.  

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Still, “In Viaggio” is far from a puff piece disguised as an unbiased account. The power dynamics at play are ever-present, the same interactions that bring the Pope closer to his subjects denouncing the hypocrisy of sanctifying a man who preaches for equality. It is not lost on the attentive viewer, either, that some (perhaps most) of the places visited by the Holy Father have been deemed of his attention due to the damaging footprint of Catholicism’s cruel, religiously-driven colonialism. But, once again, it is of little interest to Rosi to dedicate any time to dissecting the fundamental issues at the core of the Catholic Church. 

Despite being mostly framed by the cacophony of people that surround him, it is in the scarce moments of solitude that Pope Francis’ anguish can be most intensely felt. When alone in a modest prayer room, the discomfort of fragile knees resting on brittle ground offers a small reminder of the omnipresent nature of pain. Alone, his words no longer rest on the ears of people but float in the air towards the God he believes all-merciful, dread giving way to hope. The quieting beauty that lies in observing such a contained display of belief has little to do with religion, but it feels divine nonetheless. [B+] 

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