![]() ![]() “You make a better priest than I do, Michelangelo. Years later, when the Pope truly faces death, Julius has many regrets. The Pope recovers, and the work is finished. ![]() When the Pope believes he is dying, he calls Michelangelo to his bedside and commands him to finish his work. The artist proclaims that the human body is a creation of God, and there is no need for shame, “Shame is a gift from the cardinals”. He also defends the nudity in Michelangelo’s art against some of the cardinals' charges of obscenity. He says, “What you have painted here, my son, is not a portrait of God. He is impressed by the portrait of God as thoughtful and loving, not vengeful. Nonetheless, Julius does appreciate Michelangelo’s work. To help fund the chapel, he promotes five men to Cardinal rather than four.) And when he's really short on cash, he sells more appointments in the church. (To be fair, the Pope is often strapped for cash because he needs money to fight his wars. At times Julius demands Mike pay the rent, even though the Pope hasn't paid the artist. When a price is negotiated, Julius always stipulates that rent will be deducted from payment (rent for housing the Pope provides). Whenever Michelangelo raises the issue of money, the Pope says he shouldn’t discuss such things in the presence of the pontiff. Julius wanted the chapel to have a tableau of the Apostles and Michelangelo wants to paint… something else. ![]() They fight over what project to work on (the artist wants to continue working on Julius’ tomb when Julius asks him to paint the Sistine Chapel. If it were, my servants would fight… My kingdom is not of this world.” Julius II is all about the fighting. Jesus said, “ My kingdom is not of this world. It makes me think Julius II wasn’t wearing a WWJD bracelet. This identity for the Pope is a problem for me. The war eventually became the Papal State with Venice battling France (with various European nations pitching in between 15.) One of the first things we hear about him is that he’s “more of a warrior than a Pope.” We first see him in a full suit of armor (literal armor, not the full armor of God of Ephesians 5.) The film takes place during the War of the League of Cambrai, which began with the Papal State joining France to war against the Republic of Venice. But to the point: what kind of clergyman was this Pope Julius II? Of course, here at Movie Churches, we're here to evaluate clergy and churches, not art, but we can't help bringing art up for this movie. According to the film, Michelangelo didn’t want to do the work, partly because he considered himself a sculptor rather than a painter, but the Pope badgered him to do the work throughout the project. Still, the story (adapted from Irving Stone’s novel) of the film is about the battle between two large personalities. People want the story of Mikey, not Julie, though both are played by big stars ( Rex Harrison plays Julius II and Charleton Heston as Michelangelo). Julie really isn’t the big draw for this film, which tells the story of Michelangelo’s painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. We're kicking off Pope Month with Julius II, a pontiff from history, in director Carol Reed’s 1965 spectacular, The Agony and the Ecstasy. After all, I couldn’t find a single film about the President of the Evangelical Free Church of America (not even a documentary.) This is rarely true for any other religious or denominational leader, and that’s why we’re going to take a whole month to look at films that feature the Pope and the power center of the city/state of the Vatican. Whether he wants to be or not, the Pope is a power player in the political world and popular media. Gee, thanks Alexa, but that’s not really the point here.) Whereas most every person who pays attention to media of any kind, even if that person has never set foot in a Catholic Church, knows the name of the Pope. Okay thanks, Google.) I currently attend a Presbyterian Church ( P.C.U.S.A.) and have never given thought about who is the denomination’s president. I was ordained in the Evangelical Free Church, and I’ve got to admit I have no idea of the name of the current president of the denomination. ![]()
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