Illuminata Non Sum
I finally saw Angels and Demons last night–and it was, as the Vatican reviewer said, a really good popcorn movie. The scenes of Rome were terrific–and with my new film class training, I was able to appreciate the athleticism of the camera shots and angles.
Now, you shouldn’t expect the wrong things out a popcorn movie–like plot consistency–but I do have a few questions. (Spoilers ahead).
1. I identified the Villain within the first five minutes of him coming on scene. What I don’t get is his goal. Why did he plant the bomb in St. Peters–given that he was the kind of guy that saw a gulf between faith and science, and wanted to promote faith, why, well, blow up the bones of a founder of the faith? He wanted to get the cardinals out of danger (well, except the four he ordered brutally murdered)–it’s hard to be pope without the cardinals–but how was blowing up St. Peter’s going to help his cause?
And then, he goes and takes the bomb up in a helicopter, so people don’t blow up in the square and St. Peter’s doesn’t blow up after all. Was that part of his plan all along? Also, I wasn’t sure whether the Villain wanted to be pope all along (since that helicopter trick was inherently risky) or whether the fact that the cardinals wanted him to be pope was a nice surprise after his parachute landed him right back in the Square, safe with a bruise or two.
2. Is there a provision in canon law where the cardinals can proclaim someone–an ordained priest–pope by acclamation? Because that might not be such a good idea.
2. Tom Hanks was first seen swimming at the Harvard pool at 5:00 a.m. E.T, which would be 11:00 am. Rome time. Assume he gets to the Vatican jet at about 6:30, it’s an eight hour flight to Rome, which would make it 8:30 Rome time when landed, which would be a half hour after the first murder took place. Is the Vatican jet a supersonic jet?
3. You just can’t get that fast from one part of Rome to the other–the fastest way would have been a jet ski down the Tiber. That’s what I would have done.
4. I think the German actor who plays the bad cardinal who turned out to be a good cardinal actually was in The Third Miracle, a good movie, playing a bad-good Vatican official there too. And that’s why I knew he wasn’t an actual bad guy. Typecasting.
It has been a few years since I read the book, so some of this is fuzzy.
1> The Villain was the deceased Pope’s adopted son and his motivations were pretty screwy. He wanted to honor the deceased? to discredit religion so that it could be purified? Vittoria was the adopted daughter of the priest/scientist murdered at CERN. Thankfully, they left some of that extra travel out.
2> There is a provision for electing the Pope by Acclamation. I doubt that it is limited to clergy.
2> Yes, they fixed up the timeline from the book considerably. Dropped out a trip to CERN before coming to Rome. (was there another cross atlantic roundtrip, all in 24 hours?) The plane used was a mythical High Speed Civil Transport that took him from Boston to CERN in 64 minutes.
3> 24 frequently uses the same speedy ground transportation to get around LA. They never seem to be bothered by rush hour, or even non rush hour, traffic.
4> Armin Mueller-Stahl plays the Great Elector, which is really an informal non-appointed position that manages the campaign of the pope-to-be. (Koenig was Wotyla’s, I think.) He was the Cardinal in the Third Miracle, which probably why he was cast for this; in the book, it was an Italian. Maybe it was an homage to Ratzinger?
Other elements from the book are barely touched on. The final dramatic helicopter ride includes Langdon, who falls into the Tiber, then crawls onto the shore while our Villain parachutes from the helicopter that bursts into flame. Water Earth Air and Fire. Concise, but the situation that sets it up is so ludicrous, it had to be left out.
imdb.com has a long list of goofs, if you need more answers.
oops. JP2 abolished election by acclamation. It was never quite like the movie had it, where the cardinals accidentally chose someone when everyone says his name at once.
2. Is there a provision in canon law where the cardinals can proclaim someone–an ordained priest–pope by acclamation? Because that might not be such a good idea.
John Paul II repealed voting by acclamation (along with election by committee) in 1996. Universi Dominici Gregis § 67.
Good catch, Jim.
Tu dixisti.
Illuminata Non Sum? Or, why do 99% of humans have no idea what the too highly educated are talking about? Informatus Non Sum. I am not informed. But it’s not due to lack of effort. I do know that if the intellectually elite paid as much attention to communicating with the downtrodden 10-20 who reside in the 90 to 98 percentile as they do trying to impress each other, the world would be a better place for all of us. Are the intellectually elite fearful of scrapping with the intellectually non-elite? Or do they find it too boring?
Michael, it was a joke. The “Illuminati” were the name of the villains in the movie.
Vale, Lacerte!
“So long lizard”? (or “So long Spanish mackerel)?
So long Joseph. Have a good life.
Better than election by “acclamation,” which truly existed (as well as electing a guy when a white pigeon slew down on his shoulder), the movie and movie have it as “election by adoration.”
The movie does include many plot points that it doesn’t bother to spell out, as the novel does. Which adds to the confusion, though likely improves the movie. One of my favorite parts of the novel is when the Vatican guy tells Langdon that they’ll be taking a plane to Geneva and will be there in an hour. And he says, Geneva, New York? Then he is told no, it is a super-duper hypersonic jet whatever. Peanuts, too.
Just got back from seeing the movie.
Nits: Contrary to the Galileo document mentioned in the film, he never acknowleged the letter sent by Kepler describing Kepler’s discovery of elliptical planetary orbits, I’m not sure how the dates correlate with the trial, but it seems that the elliptical model would have eliminated the need for Copernicus’s epicycles and might have thus made a more persuasive case for Heliocentrism.
And, by the way, the music was truly Orfful.
A couple more things — How can a Harvard-educated ‘symbolist’, who is constantly delving into ancient documents, be ignorant of latin? Also the fact that the marginalia in the Galileo document was in English struck me as weird.
Latin and Italian. And the way Gallileo wrote perfect palmer method was striking too.
But I actually thought it was pretty fun –especially on a big screen.
Certain conventions in these sorts of movies make me crazy. One thing is the way the director telegraphs every punch. When you see the closeup of the key in the ignition, you know the car explosion is coming. Or when the policimen exit the crypt, saying ‘nothing to see here folks’, you know that’s exactly where they should have been. Or you can grit your teeth, knowing that all those hordes of policemen and soldiers are obviously going to be way too dumb to be a match for one bad guy — thus leaving it to Robert Whastisname to confront the paid assassin single handedly. Or the arrival of the Forces of Law and Order en-masse, just as soon as and not a second before the hero has escaped the bad guy or vanguished him single handedly (as in the “Die Hard” films). Then there’s the inevitable finale where the cadres of policement, patrol cars and ambulances arrive, telling us that chaos has been vanguished and all the trappings of the ordered, civilized world have been restored
Finally, you’re assaulted with the sound track and peripatetic camera — all of which is intended to sweep you up in the action so you don’t have time think about the absurdity of it all. Bah Humbug.
There are a few outstanding exceptions, such as Fred Zinneman’s “Day of the Jackal” or “The Dogs of War”, both of which were made from Frederick Forsythe pot-boilers. Speaking of fun, in my book, few films have been able to match the roller coaster experience of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”.
Based on your bio, you are a teacher. Please keep your eye on the ball. The kids need excellent instruction more than they ever have.