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''The Pope's Toilet'' ( es, El Baño del Papa) is a 2007 Uruguayan film directed by César Charlone and Enrique Fernandez, starring César Troncoso, Virginia Méndez, and Mario Silva.


Plot

It is 1988, and Melo, a
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
an town on the Brazilian border, awaits the visit of Pope
John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
. Numbers begin circulating: hundreds of people will come, thousands say the media. To the poor citizens of Melo this means pilgrims in need of food and drink, paper flags, souvenirs, and commemorative medals. Brimming with enthusiasm, the locals hope not only for divine blessing but also a small share of material happiness. Petty smuggler Beto is certain that he's found the best business idea of all: "The Pope’s Toilet", where the thousands of visiting pilgrims can find relief. Beto is thwarted by lack of funds and the local mobile customs enforcement officer. Ultimately the promised "60,000 to 200,000" Brazilians do not materialise. Apparently (in the film's postscript) only 400 Brazilians came, disproportionately served by 387 stalls for food and trinkets. The film makes it clear that the visit was a financial disaster to the town rather than bringing any wealth as promised. Beto has spent his daughter's college fund to no avail, but she forgives him, and at least he has a nice toilet. Regardless of the claims made in the film's postscript committed to uphold a good sense of humor at all costs, international media reported the Pope's open-air mass in the town of Melo with 39,000 inhabitants was attended by a crowd of about 50,000 people.


Cast

* César Troncoso as Beto *Virginia Méndez as Carmen *Virginia Ruiz as Silvia *Mario Silva as Valvulina *Henry de Leon as Nacente *Jose Arce as Tica *Nelson Lence as Meleyo *Rosário dos Santos as Tereza * Hugo Blandamuro as Tartamudo


Release

The film was Uruguay's submission to the
80th Academy Awards The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During t ...
for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. It is available in the United States from
filmmovement.com Film Movement is a North American distributor of independent and foreign films, which is based in New York City, founded in 2003. History Film Movement was founded in 2003, and has released more than 250 feature films and shorts. Having grown fr ...
. BBC Four premiered the film on British television on 1 August 2010.


See also

*
Cinema of Uruguay The cinema of Uruguay has a role in the culture of Uruguay and is a part of Latin American cinema. Since the late 1990s, Uruguayan cinema has undergone a process of evolution, during which its films have received positive reviews and been inte ...
*
List of submissions to the 80th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of submissions to the 80th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Popes Toilet, The 2007 films 2007 drama films Uruguayan drama films 2000s Spanish-language films Films about Pope John Paul II Cerro Largo Department Melo, Uruguay Films set in Uruguay Films shot in Uruguay