Michael T

Read this plot synopsis and see if you can tell where Padre Pio fits into it: The setting is post-World War 1 Italy, the small town of San Giovanni. Soldiers are returning from war to a hero’s welcome. But all is not well in the town. Upsetting the normal social order of a Chuch-backed bourgeois overseeing a poor and nearly-starving peasantry are some revolutionary young minds looking to serve the poor through the introduction of Socialism. While initially hostile to the new idea, the common masses are slowly won over as the greedy landowners exploit them, even working some of them to death, have lavish wine parties, and violently lash out at all who would see their power threatened. Through free and fair elections, our noble Socialist heroes win control of the office of mayor, only to be brutally crushed by the Church-backed fascists who will overrun the country in the lead-up to World War 2 in what would be known as the Massacre at San Giovanni Rotunda (this was a real event). If you were left wondering how any of this has anything to do with the beloved Saint Pio, you will be happy to know that perhaps ten whole minutes of screen time are interspersed throughout this unending film with him as the focus. Does he interact with the plot above, or any of the characters? No. Does he himself undergo any thematic changes or character growth related to the plot? Not really, as the entire story takes place before he even gets his stigmata until the final scene. He is simply a very angry man, shouting non-Catholic beliefs at penitents (such as “this is beyond me; go to God, not to me,” etc.), crying in agony at the abuse he suffers from demonic attack (as opposed to the quiet dignity with which he is said to have suffered in life), and wishing he could die. No miracles, no blessings, none of the gentle positivity for which he was known. The acting was a mixed bag, not helped by the caricatures the writing gave us. Music was actually not bad, and used sparingly to give weight to some minor scenes. I was counting down the minutes until it was over. This has no right to use St. Padre Pio’s name for publicity.