Letter to Paolo Sorrentino

Open letter from EMR to Paolo Sorrentino
“Dear Mr. Sorrentino”

3 December 2020,

Your pope series have moved me so much that I decided to share my thought about it with you and so express my gratitude. It is a post-modern gesamkunstwerk questioning and challenging not God, but rather the way the church (the mankind) has been processing the legacy of Jesus Christ etc. whilst being a humanly imperfect, political institution.
It plays with the gorgeous imagery, gestures and language of cynicism, chauvinism and various flavours of erotica, and yet it goes deeper, to the core of those things when the moment requires it getting pragmatic, wise and even truly sacred by acknowledging the human nature as is, including the limits of reason and the concept of faith.

The tension between shallow pop songs and profound, complicated emotions, acts and events is funny and beautiful. The realistic sex scenes provide an information about the particular tension between the characters involved. Simple and aesthetically pleasing would sometimes feel very right and sometimes very wrong – only realism can tell that so subtly.

As the pope in coma began to breathe and it went from clean, contemplative symbol of hope to an annoying, frightening seemingly never-ending pseudo miracle only through being put on a pedestal. The work with pace here is remarkable. When I watched the episode when Lenny is awake in (my beloved) Venice, the plot seemed quite uneven, which was confusing since it didn’t feel as a mistake. Looking back I realized that the timeline is in a diagonal perspective. Again, remarkable.

Yes, I am quite intimately friends with Jesus and yes I am officially catholic, but I do answer to God, not to an institution and I am fine with atheism, however it does affect the way I perceive a piece of work like this one – it makes it more personal. Not problematic, not for me at least.

The first time I heard my calling I was fourteen, the first time I was actually willing to listen was circa six years later – last year. Turns out I am meant to be a poet and I like to think I am one; female, slightly paranoid, latently cruel, with a lot of faith and epileptic enough that it restrains me from being intellectually educated, constantly misunderstood and terrified of being too fragile and/or not good enough.

It is very strange to experience a feeling that the man whose personality seems like it would fit with mine the best is a personality of a pope. A fictional pope. Watching him would lessen my loneliness on a level that remains blank most of the time. Believe me, this not being the truth would be easier for me in way that… I mean being a poet (and not being blind) I do recognize Jude Law’s physical handsomeness, but this is way beyond that regarding Lenny and also very much regarding Jude, a hard-working actor with an, as far as I know, unprecedented shape-shifting charisma thorough which he structures a different mind, heart and a different charisma that it fits the character. Having him play Pius XIII.? Genius.

Hearing the words ‘I might be even more handsome than Jesus’ as he (in this role) becomes a holy, untouchable, seemingly perfect sex-symbol, it is interesting to reminisce, how he, looking like the Picture of Dorian Gray, played Lord Alfred Douglas – a lover to Oscar Wilde like twenty years ago. Oscar Wilde, who wrote a story named Young King about a person, who would let go of all his wealth and at the day of his coronation kneeling before the Lord in the simplest clothing, more importantly who wrote a letter from prison about at last comprehending poverty, humility, modesty, unironically saying ‘non sum dignus’ to love and grasping the ways of Christ through poetry. Whether you are aware of this context or not, even if it is merely a figment of my imagination. The link between Alfie and Lenny. However purely coincidental, is so direct, inner and carnal, it is on a certain level binding. Although it is just an actor doing his job.

Having the new pope be English, dandy and literary is amusing. Having two symbolic roses, red and white, in his garden is very amusing. Having him delicately preach about the importance of poetry felt meaningful to me.

Moreover keeping a certain dose of something pure, holy and good with no superficial wow effect and with humility towards… despite intensely enjoying most of the rest of it, my absolute favourite moment is Lenny saying ‘Doesn’t matter. Come home.’

Thank you.


In these desperate times
take care.

Sincerely,

EMR

Author: EMR