Movie Review: 'We Have a Pope' -- 3 stars

To be elected pope is to inherit a powerful responsibility. You're the leader of a church comprising more than 1 billion followers, and your every word and action are subject to powerful public scrutiny. It's not a role to be taken lightly, and it's not one that just anyone could handle.

When Cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli) is elected to the papacy in Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti's "We Have a Pope," the magnitude of the position overwhelms him. In a panic, he escapes the shelter of the Vatican for the streets of Rome, trying to make sense of things while seeking an everyday experience.

Moretti gently satirizes the Catholic Church's insularity, highlighting the conflict between its secretive inner workings and the burdens that come with its public visibility. But what really matters here is the affectionate, humanist perspective from which the filmmaker dramatizes the plight of a man who simply can't bare the weight of his job.