''Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'' ( pl, Karol - Człowiek, który został Papieżem, it, Karol, un uomo diventato Papa) is a 2005

TV miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

written and directed by

Giacomo Battiato Giacomo Battiato is an Italian film director and writer. One guide to Italian cinema says he:''The History of the Italian Cinema'' (Princeton University Press, 2009), p. ?? Born in Verona and married to Anna Zaneva since 1999, he began his car ...

, and created as a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

- Italian-

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

joint cooperation project. ''Karol'' is a biography of Karol Wojtyła, later known as

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 ...

, beginning in 1939 when Karol was only 19 years old and ending at the 1978 papal election that made him Pope. The TV miniseries was initially to air in early April 2005 in the Vatican, but it was delayed due to the Pope's death. It was broadcast for the first time by the Italian

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...

on the first day of the 2005 papal election. Although it was originally broadcast on television, it was also released in theaters, which allowed the film to be shown in Poland. The incredible success of the movie prompted the creation of a sequel, '' Karol: The Pope, The Man'' (2006), which portrayed Karol's life as Pope from his papal inauguration to his death.

Main cast

Piotr Adamczyk Piotr Aleksander Adamczyk (; born March 21, 1972) is a Polish film, television, voice and theatre actor. He is known for portraying pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin in the biographical film ''Chopin: Desire for love'' (2002), Pope John Pau ...

Karol Józef Wojtyła 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 ...

Małgosia Bela Małgosia Bela (born Małgorzata Bela; 6 June 1977) is a Polish fashion model and actress. She made her debut as a runway model for Comme des Garçons, Givenchy, and Balenciaga in 1998, and appeared in various photoshoots for ''Vogue''. In 2004, ...

Halina Kwiatkowska Halina Kwiatkowska ( Królikiewiczówna, 25 April 192112 November 2020) was a Polish actress, educator, and writer. She performed in ''The Cherry Orchard'' at the National Stary Theatre in Kraków, and starred in the films ''Ashes and Diamonds' ...

"Hania" *

Raoul Bova Raoul Bova (born 14 August 1971) is an Italian actor. Bova's European film breakthrough was in the 1993 film ''Piccolo grande amore'', and he's played romantic male leads the following years. His American film credits include '' Under the Tusc ...

- Priest Tomasz Zaleski *

Matt Craven Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and lawyer who served as head of the General Government in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member of the German Workers' Party ...

Ken Duken Ken Duken (born 17 April 1979) is a German actor and director. Early life Ken Duken is the third child of film and stage actress Christina Loeb; his father is a doctor. Duken never attended a drama school but took courses in drama, including un ...

- Adam Zieliński * Hristo Shopov - Julian Kordek * Ennio Fantastichini - Nowak * Olgierd Łukaszewicz -

Karol Wojtyła (senior) Karol Wojtyła (18 July 1879 – 18 February 1941) was a soldier, a non-commissioned officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army and a Captain (armed forces), Captain of the Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic), Polish Armed Forces' administra ...

* Lech Mackiewicz - Stefan Wyszyński * Radosław Pazura - Paweł *

Violante Placido Maria Violante Placido (; born 1 May 1976) is an Italian actress and singer. Early life Placido was born in Rome, Italy. She is the daughter of actor-director Michele Placido and actress Simonetta Stefanelli. Career Film Her film debut was al ...

- Maria Pomorska *

Grażyna Szapołowska Grażyna Szapołowska (; born 19 September 1953) is a Polish film and theatre actress. Life and career She was born in Bydgoszcz. The father was of Latvian-Polish descent, and mother, Wanda, was Lithuanian-Polish descent. She has a sister, Lidi ...

- Brigitte Frank * Kenneth Welsh - Professor Wójcik * Patrycja Soliman - Wisława

Notes

*At Lublin University, a student gives his name as Martin Mickiewicz, and Father Karol responds, "That's quite a name to live up to." This is a reference to Polish national poet, Adam Mickiewicz. *People did not talk and/or clap in church until the late 1970s and early 1980s due to a canon law that still exists, forbidding actions that are "contrary to the sacred nature" of the Church. (Canon 1210)

Soundtrack

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

released in 2007 on 2 CDs.

External links

* 2005 television films 2005 films 2000s English-language films 2000s Italian-language films Latin-language films Polish-language films Films about Catholicism Italian World War II films Cold War films Films set in Poland Films set in Kraków Films set in Vatican City Films shot in Poland Films shot in Kraków Canadian biographical drama films 2005 biographical drama films Films about Pope John Paul II German biographical drama films Italian biographical drama films Polish biographical drama films Films directed by Giacomo Battiato Italian multilingual films Polish multilingual films 2005 multilingual films 2000s Canadian films Canadian World War II films Polish World War II films German World War II films French World War II films 2000s German films {{Poland-film-stub