The papal electorate gathers to select a new leader. Black smoke keeps rises from the chimney as no one wishes to be the pope. Saint Peter’s Square is crowded with those who wait for a result. Melville, an outsider cardinal, is finally elected but dreads appearing in public, and so a psychoanalyst is secretly brought in to help matters. This is the Italian master Nanni Moretti’s latest feature shining with unimaginable courage and creativity. After audaciously challenging the Catholic empire by showing a scene in which no one wants to be a pope, the director chooses an extreme and ruthless ending for the film, something only Moretti would be able to try. Michel Piccoli, a famous French actor, plays the role of the pope who wants to be an actor, while Moretti casts himself as the psychoanalyst. The film’s scale of realistically describing Vatican City and its beautiful images demonstrate that the director’s great efforts for this new feature finally paid off. The story could also shock many European countries whose dominating faith is Catholicism. (RHEE, Soue-won)