The Pope's Toilet (2007) User Reviews

The Pope and God's blessed poor

[Red-125 · 8/10 · 11 October 2009]

El Baño del Papa (2007) written and directed by César Charlone and Enrique Fernández, was shown in the U.S. with the title, "The Pope's Toilet."

The film stars César Troncoso as the small-time smuggler Beto, and Virginia Méndez as Carmen, his loving but cautious wife. The Pope is going to pay a visit to Melo, a small Uruguayan city near the Brazilian border. The residents of Melo are in a fever of anticipation about the visit, especially about the thousands of Brazilian tourists who will come across the border to be present at this historical moment.

Beto, like all his friends and neighbors, is caught up in the almost ritualistic excitement. He has the creative thought of constructing a pay toilet for the tourists as his means of finally making some real profits.

The rest of the plot hinges on Beto's schemes to acquire enough capital to construct the toilet, and to get the project finished before the Pope arrives. In order to do this, he has to come to terms with people other than the "honest" small-scale tradesmen who purchase his smuggled household goods. He strikes a deal with the devil, although there were varied opinions within our group of just who the bad guy was. (He was obviously a bad guy, and he had power over Beto, but we weren't sure of his exact role. I think he was the local customs officer.)

The acting in the film was uniformly good, and the two leads were outstanding. The locations seemed authentic to me, although I have no way to judge this. The subtitles were fine.

We saw this film at Rochester's Dryden Theatre, as part of the excellent Rochester Labor Film Festival. It will probably work very well on a small screen. It's an interesting, if flawed film, and worth seeing as long as you don't expect a masterpiece. Let's face it--Uruguayan films don't come along every day, at least they don't come along in Rochester. "The Pope's Toilet" is a way to enter a culture that is like our own in very basic ways, but far different from our culture in practical, day-to-day matters.

*Note* Avoid the trailer for this film. It gives away the plot and the best lines.

Bicycle diaries

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 7 September 2011]

The setting is the frontier that separates Brazil and Uruguay. As the story begins, we see a few men on bicycles carrying what appears to be contraband. A police car gives chase and most of the men are caught. The policeman knows he will be able to get something he wants out of the merchandise the guys are hauling. Only Beto, who hides behind some boulders, is able to escape and save whatever he is bringing back.

Beto is a poor man with no other job than to go across the border to make a living. His wife Carmen takes laundry in to help the family. The couple has a younger daughter, Silvia, whose ambition is to be a newscaster on television. The family's home is a step above a shack. In spite of the poverty, Beto is always dreaming about how to provide for his wife and daughter, except his plans almost always end in failure.

A big event is coming to the town. It is 1988 and Pope John Paul II is expected to make a stop in Melo. The townspeople begin to prepare themselves to feed the hordes of Brazilians that are supposed to invade their little town. Beto's idea is to build a toilet outside his house. With so many visitors, he figures most people will be in need of using the facility, at a modest cost. Unfortunately, the crowds never materialize; the people in the town suffer greater losses than they were able to afford. The task he set for himself will almost ruin his life and that of his wife and daughter.

An engaging film from Uruguay directed by Cesar Charlone and Enrique Hernandez. Based on a true story, the filmmakers tried to reconstruct the atmosphere of that historic moment. Who would have thought an important person like the John Paul II, a figure that attracted thousands of people to wherever he appeared, would get such a small turnout? The lives of Beto and his neighbors was changed forever by just pure bad luck, something no one ever expected.

Best thing in the film is Cesar Troncoso who plays Beto. His pain is too hard for the viewer to take. Despite of all his good intentions, he is just as bad off after the visit, as he was before. Mr. Troncoso's work surprises in its intensity. The supporting cast does a wonderful job as well.

Collapsing dreams with a vengeance.

[davidtraversa-1 · 7/10 · 15 October 2010]

Reading the seven reviews about this movie broke my heart. How is it possible that we have only seven reviews of such a good movie when we see some dribbling silly Hollywood comedies with hundreds of reviews??

Well, that tells us about the sad state of the world. "El baño del Papa", ("The Pope's toilet"), has received, from seven reviewers, very well appointed comments, so I won't go much further into that; just from my point of view, I can add that I don't remember having seen a film as dark as this one with that sort of a downhearted feeling at the very end.

It reminds one of the 1940's Italian neorealist cinema. Or the Brazilian films about poor people. The contrast between the Pope, wrapped within yards and yards of excellent quality clothes, clean, perfectly shaved, probably exquisitely perfumed and made up, enclosed in his armor-plated Papa mobile, unreachable, aloof, always surrounded by dozens of bodyguards, delivering his totally unrealistic talk and obviously ready to leave that miserable place as soon as polite etiquette will allow him to, and the stark poverty of these suffering and hungry strata of humanity, full of aborted expectations and barely covered in rags in that very cold morning, reminded me of another excellent film, the Italian: "Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi" ("Ugly, Filthy and Bad"), filmed with the same kind of marginal people and showing their fight for survival at any cost.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

But the glory of this film comes with the final scene, the one around which the whole movie was constructed. We are given the same expectations of sudden riches that these villagers have had throughout the whole movie, from the very beginning, when they learn by watching the news on TV that the Pope will make a stop at Merlo, their forgotten little place in Uruguay, borderline with Brazil, to be cruelly taken away with a sudden crush from cold reality in no more than 10 minutes at the end, after a whole month of expensive preparations for the event, all villagers hoping to make some money from the tourists coming from Brazil to see the Pope in person. Tourists that will be hungry and thirsty and will buy all the food prepared during that month of high expectations. Only 400 hundred tourist came for the event, and the locals have had almost 400 hundred tents collapsing with food!! (they were told by irresponsible TV people that 50.000 visitors where expected!!)

Practically none of the tourists bought anything, in total indifference to the many offerings, and they left as they came, on their buses.

Totally heartbreaking. These villagers invested every little cent they had (some of them taking a mortgage on their sordid homes!!). It leaves you breathless. What a lay down!! Probably, as I said before, one of the most overpowering endings of any movie I had ever seen.

This devastating event really took place in Uruguay in 1988.

*END OF SPOILERS*

"The Pope's toilet", another foreign film (for the USA) that Hollywood will never dream of touching, not even with a ten foot pole, to make an American remake of it. But this one YOU MUST SEE!!

A meaningful message

[petresti96 · 14 April 2009]

This is a movie about hope,friendship and the building rock of a society - the family.In the beginning I thought that religion would play a prominent role in the movie, but that was me rushing things up.

The people of Melo, a town in Uruguay, put their "thinking hats" once the visit of Pope John Paul II is anounced.These people envision a sea of visitors running through their town and prepare adequately,making sacrifices, only to be left with a broken dream and empty pockets..

In the beginning people make fun of their hazardous life, and in the end the same people defy the odds of life by turning on the other chick.

To higher spirits,salute !

Not modern Uruguay, but funny & simpatico

[refordgarry · 7/10 · 12 September 2020]

Just loved this flick, though the poverty scenario portrayed is as absent nowadays as ragged children are to Naples. But a very compelling reflection of the Past. Never got to see Jean-Paul in the flesh, but was very lucky to see his successor, so very connected with that aura of Christ's Catholic representative on Earth - which is the basis of this film. Loved the crude bicycles, the foolishness and the running from border guards. A lot of Beto's eccentricity (played by Cesar Troncoso) has echos in Zorba, the Greek. He is a Tragic Hero.

It deserves to be seen... but open your mind first.

[Rumpelstiltkin · 10/10 · 13 October 2007]

If you are looking for effects, heroes and such, don't watch it. If you watch movies as a thread of facts, or scenes, you'll never understand a movie like this. But if you open your mind enough to understand what poverty does to the characters; their broken dreams, their lack of material goods, their lack of education, food, etc., and read carefully each one of the subtle (and not so subtle sometimes) messages about honesty, friendship and family values, and how strong those values can be, you'll find you are watching a little jewel; surprisingly, non-pro actors almost outperform pro actors, thus making a very fresh and simple film, very natural. A message goes to church: it seems church doesn't care about poor people but only when is good marketing; feeding kids in poor countries (just an example, not related with the film) may be of great impact, but getting involved with problems and faith of people seems not to be important at all. That doesn't means stop feeding kids; that means not making a display of richness each time a country is visited, cause seems that the church laughs at people's poverty and suffering. I guess that's why so many of us in Uruguay believe in god, but doesn't trust the church as an institution anymore. Press credibility is at stake too. My personal opinion from now on: the message is clear.. the flame of values is still alive. Don't let it die, cause only values will keep us alive as big family.

Not great, but very watchable and enjoyable.

[woodvillelite · 7/10 · 7 September 2007]

This was one of the main films I wanted to see this year at the Toronto Film Festival due to the rave reviews on this site. I am glad I did but in my estimation did not deserve a 9 or 10 rating.

It's 1988 and a small very poor Uruguayan town is in a papal frenzy, Pope John Paul II is coming! The citizens are concerned with what will be needed to accommodate over 50,000+ visitors and be pleasing to his holiness. Food and drink is on most of their minds, but Beto, has the after effects fully in his mind but just needs the money to build a toilet without going into debt like most of the other villagers.

One of the main theme which runs through this movie is that most of the village men are smugglers, that is their lively hood. The border between Uruguay and Brazil is right there, supplies are available in Brazil which are not in Uruguay. There is also a cat and mouse game with the head honcho of the border patrol who also wants his cut along with everyone else.

I think the story could have moved a lot faster in the first 40 minutes but they were getting us acquainted to the characters, village and how things work (smuggling) in their neck of the woods so to speak. The use of the hand held cameras was awkward at times (assuming this due to the jumpiness) but sort of reminiscent of how the TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street" was filmed. This movie was very well done, you bond with the characters fairly fast. Very few of the principal actors were real professionals, many were villagers of the area they were filming in. I doubt this film will be in my top pick of this years films, BUT, it did have a very charming quality, beautiful scenery and totally worth seeing.

In same league as the last few excellent films from Uruguay

[CarNen · 10/10 · 17 August 2007]

Excellent actors achieve a perfect description of how people live, work and feel in the Uruguayan towns bordering Brazil. They need very few quick words to tell you everything about the characters they represent.

In spite of all their problems it still sends a very positive message about the efforts of this family to stay together. They are really concerned about the future of their daughter. Both parents go to extremes for the well being of their small family.

The expressions of the silent face of the daughter tell you everything in her mind.

It is a very sad subject but very well treated with delicate touches of humor.

A bit too slow for today's viewer accustomed to fast action but, still an excellent movie.

Maybe not as good as "Whisky" but in the same league of the several Uruguayan movies we have seen lately. Quite different but as good as "El viaje hacia el Mar".

It is a film that leaves the viewer looking for hidden and not so hidden messages from its creators.

It shows very clearly and graphically the contrast between the opulence of the trip of the Pope and his multiple assistants and the local poverty.

The close-ups of the pope mobile stress the two different worlds; the Pope's and the people's.

Is that a message to the church asking for a modernization of their public relations strategy?

The TV reporter has no problem broadcasting news he has not confirmed. He talks about a long line of buses waiting to cross the borderline from Brazil, filled with visitors raising the expectations of the viewers.

The many interviews with people who are planning to profit from the Pope's visit feed the hopes of many others without any real basis.

Is that a message to the media, asking for more ethical reporting?

Brilliant !!!

[hrprossi · 10/10 · 2 October 2007]

Melo is like this. The film shows the reality of this area of the country where very poor people have to do their best in order to survive. It is the reality of most of our peoples in Latin America. Their dreams and their daily struggle against poverty and frustration. The Pope's visit is a very good way to show what these people do every day to live a "decent" life. The direction, the actors, the natural scenery. everything is in its right place and all of us left the theater with the feeling that life is so and nobody can do anything to change the way thing are for them. Just one word to define it: Excellent.

Interesting If Not Fantastic

[bigverybadtom · 7/10 · 24 September 2018]

In the small, impoverished town of Melo in Uruguay, very near the border with Brazil, there are a group of men who make their living smuggling contraband across the international border, dealing with the corrupt border guards there. The movie concentrates on one of the men, who has a wife and daughter who live in an impoverished house which is little better than a shack. The daughter has dreams of having a career of being in television, though that seems very far away. The father of course has dreams of making money in a less risky way.

Opportunity comes for not only him but for his fellow villagers when Pope John Paul II comes to the town to speak. Everybody expects huge crowds to come to Melo, and most of the townsfolk get loans with the idea of serving food and drink to the coming visitors. Our hero has a more clever idea; he comes up with a pay toilet for the visitors. But he still has to smuggle some more to create his bathroom...will everything pay off?

This movie is based on real events, and while I cannot say how accurate the movie depicts Uruguay and its slums, the movie provides an appropriate atmosphere for the story.

Hounest; engaging; genuinely funny and always with an eye on the grander scheme of things, this flush Uruguayan picture is a wonderful watch.

[johnnyboyz · 8/10 · 19 October 2010]

Don't be put off by the title, as Uruguyan writer/directors César Charlone and Enrique Fernández have, in 2007's The Pope's Toilet, crafted something stirring; resounding; fascinating and heart breakingly tragic, a classy adaptation of true circumstances once upon a time. The film covers a handful of people in and around a poor family of a small Uruguyan town on the Brazilian border called Melo and what it is they believe in; what it is they entrust their dreams and aspirations with, be they of a religious ilk or even career related, and the consequent danger of these things being shattered. The film is a humbling, down to Earth drama about people living in border-line third world conditions just trying to pull through; a harsh damning-come-exploration of supply and demand business ideologies; a light, non-causality driven comedy about a family man and his local friends; a terrifying drama about a man on the edge as he invests time and money in a venture for sake of Capital gain. It is a remarkable little drama, a deftly directed piece which changes gears and tones as easily as you like and retains a certain balanced sense of both joy and foreboding throughout.

César Troncoso plays Beto, the father of daughter Silvia (Ruiz), and husband of wife Carmen (Méndez). He is a man living with them under living conditions as basic as you like, persistent sights of burnt out cars and trucks sitting around on neighbouring lawns, peeling walls on a number of local buildings and dirt roads more often than not leading you off to wherever it is you want to go. When we first see Beto he is, like many people appear to do so, journeying back home to Uruguay from adjacent Brazil following some shopping; dealing and, ultimately, some smuggling. His pedal bike is no match for those surging by on scooters, his idea to skip around the checkpoint to avoid the authorities no match for their off terrain truck headed by a foul mouthed customs official whom takes sadistic glee in infantalising them via his verbal berating and then scuppering their plans. Times are tough, with even those whom are of similar ilk to you in the form of his class and predicament seemingly outranking him in the form of their transportation.

Opportunity strikes when it is announced Pope John Paul II is to come to their tiny town for a mass gathering; sessions of prayer and Catholic rejoice sure to follow. Devout Catholics themselves, Beto and the locals' true cause for celebration arrives in the form of business franchises and ventures that they feel they can set up so as to rake in money off of the large number of people whom will gather in their town as a result of this coming. The announcing of it is followed by a technique known as the gaze, which is applied to the film by Charlone and Fernández during which the lead's intense stare back at the screen is captured moments after the TV announcement. It suggests a look of longing, not in an erotic sense as usually is with said technique but in a manner resembling 'want' as ideas resonate. We sense he smells an opening after defeats to the state in the form of customs, with which a large legal cash flow will surely arrive given this fresh revelation, and it is here the film concentrates on his drive to do what he decides to do. Some are getting ready to dish out large amounts of food, others try selling clothes and Beto is stuck on constructing the titular lavatory: a public toilet located in his front garden in a booth complete with hand-wash and dry service at a counter just outside it.

Where others have gone down more familiarised, even normalised, routes; Beto has thought outside the box and gone into the constructing of a toilet out-house cubicle, one he reckons of only very few lavatory's within the area that will cater to those whom need it. As hype around the visit builds and they struggle to finish off the cubicle with mounting issues outside of this venture, a real sense of tension and something on the line is flawlessly inserted into proceedings. The thrill is in how the film puts mostly everything the family aspire to on the line at expense of this Papal visit, and Beto's charging around attempting to fulfil this dream and prove himself to his family as a pure, unadulterated Capitalist cash-bringer. Silvia appears to be headed for a career in sewing and stitching, something she would much rather substitute for a job within the media industry resembling working as an anchorwoman, but something that would require high university fees and the living in capital Montevideo. With Carmen, the arguments and disagreements that hint at near full-on disenchantment between the two of them in their marriage are papered over only by the odd uplifting exchange. You feel a greater extent of well being and positive attachment between the two is at stake.

Where a Spanish language film set in the 1980s about a poor Urugyuan constructing a public loo for a visit of The Pope may very well turn people off the idea of seeing this wonderful drama, those without a philistinery gene will surely warm to the piece. On a closing note, and when certain first round groups of the recent 2010 football World Cup concluded, there was a short VT on television about a South African woman and her one-off market stall franchise which would now have to be shut down. This was due to the leaving of so many foreigners and tourists whom come to where she was based but then left as the event shipped out of her home city. With it, all extra business gone too. I didn't think much of it at the time, but seeing this 2007 piece and recalling that woman had me see things a little clearer: a triumph.

loose amateurish contrived--local faces not enough

[filmalamosa · 5/10 · 2 January 2012]

Follows poor people in small Uruguayan town trying to cash in on the Pope's visit. One decides to build a bathroom (kind of dry irony of some sort). The entire livelihood of the main characters is dependent on smuggling things from Brazil on bicycles.

I have recently watched now 3 films all from the same area (Argentina and Uruguay) all with loads of local realism. All of them made recently.

By far the best was *Live In Maid*... It features two professional actresses but it is flawlessly authentic...a bump down was *Intimate Stories* it is authentic but too sentimental...still it is technically sound and holds together nicely.

This film by contrast is loose amateurish and contrived...the local faces are good that is it.

I found the main actors not convincing (they looked middle class not poor) and the relentless shots of the staged poverty and local color (cows being herded in unconvincing ways etc..) depressing rather than interesting (as they would be if it is done right).

It was as though anyone well dressed clean and middle class was run off the streets although you accidentally saw a few of them in the Brazilian town. I got the point it is a poor community but I felt it staged and exaggerated---in short contrived.

Of the actors the husband does the best job and is a likable character...the daughter totally unlikeable (was she adopted? looks zero like the parents) with a constant sour expression--the wife too old for the role. I got tired of seeing her rear end in old baggy Levi's.

It tells me just shooting edited slums (to show most broken down features) and faces doesn't cut it. Especially with obvious middle class actors carrying the story. Just make an authentic documentary!

Not an art grade film watch the 2 others I mention above instead.

I loved the mother and the daughter.

[agfcarrara · 20 May 2008]

The movie broke my heart. I was so proud of the daughter when a tear emerged upon realizing and admiring her father's effort. The scene practising the use of the toilet with "clients" was fabulous.

The contrast between what I have and what they haven't is too extreme, YET they do have two supreme possessions -- faith and friendship.

The photography was impressive and the poverty was perfectly illustrated.

The movie offers no possible way to better the economic status of these dear people. Their lack of money is unrelenting.

They could do well in business as they have ideas, are resourceful and hard working. The world is the loser when the creativity of people goes untapped.

HE is coming to town, and left.

[adamsoch-1 · 10/10 · 30 May 2011]

Hope for a better life is the premise of this splendid bittersweet film from Uruguay. Beto, a hard working commodity smuggler and family man is jumping on the bandwagon to profit from the Pope's visit that it was just announced. This could be the miracle they've been waiting for, the answer to the endless prayers and payback time for all the suffering this Catholic family endured for so long, as long as they can remember. But Beto is clever and he is using his head (as he like to say it in the movie), and he will not offer food, drinks or souvenirs as so many from the village decided to sell, but he is building a toilet, where people will be able to relive themselves, for a fee, after all the food they will gobble.

It was the Pope's 37th visit outside of the Holly See from the total of 104 pastoral travels he made during his time in power. Preparations are underway, an enormous crowd from neighboring Brazil is expected, the media is all what is talking about and everyone is eager for the big event. Finally the Pope came, prayed, blessed all big and small, chatted with officials and left. The only thing was missing were the huge crowd, they have been hoping for.

There is a very clear and sad message in this poignant and well-made film that is marketed as comedy. One of the funniest scenes is when Beto is setting up the operation and teach his family how to run the "outhouse" business that is offering "half or full" relieving service. I recommend it full heartedly and I hope you will have as much fun watching it as I did.

"The working people of Melo welcome Pope John Paul II"

[paul-allaer · 8/10 · 1 February 2016]

I recently was browsing the foreign movie section of my local library and stumbled upon this particular DVD. I didn't pay much attention to it, other than it was released by Film Movement, which has an amazing library of indie and foreign films, and so I went ahead and picked it up.

"The Pope's Toilet" (2007 release from Uruguay; 97 min.) brings the story of Beto and his family and friend in the Melo community in Uruguay, not far from the border from Brazil. As the movie opens, we see Beto and several others biking back into Uruguay, heavily loaded with packages of all kinds. It's not long before we understand that Beto and his friends make a living smuggling everyday goods from southern Brazil into Melo. Meanwhile, Melo is getting excited about the upcoming visit of Pope John Paul II, and Beto and many others are thinking of a way to take advantage of this unexpected economic opportunity. To tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: first, it wasn't until I was about to start watching this that I noticed this movie originally came out in 2007, so almost 10 years ago. It is amazing then to notice that the movie has a certain timelessness about it, as I found this movie utterly fresh and mesmerizing. I was at first a little put off by the movie's opening disclaimer that the events portrayed in the movie are "in essence true and it's only by chance they didn't occur the way they're told here", whatever that is supposed to mean. But the Pope did in fact visit Melo (in May, 1988). Second, the movie's director pays close attention to the economic struggles of the Melo community, synthesized here by Beto and his wife and daughter. His wife has accepted her fate, while his daughter has big dreams of becoming a radio announcer and going to study in Uruguay's far-away capital Montevideo. In that sense, this is a rather depressing movie, as life is hard for this remote community. It's all the more exciting then when the preparations for the Pope's visit begin (signs emphasize the blue collar aspects of Melo), and people in Melo are wondering/contemplating how many Brazilians will cross the border for this historic moment (and spend money in the Melo community): 2,000? 20,000? 200,000?

Per the usual, the Film Movement DVD comes with a bonus shortie, this time the excellent "Video 3000" (5 min.) from Germany, an animated shortie about a person who has just received his new DVD player, and is trying to figure out the remote control. Just watch! Meanwhile, "The Pope's Toilet" is an excellent example of Film Movement's rich library of foreign and indie movies. "The Pope's Toilet" is HIGHLY RECOMMEDED!

Real...

[ghuert01 · 10/10 · 25 September 2013]

Very moving and very real...

Shows a life of poverty and hopelessness. They showed in their own way how it is to be desperate and hopeless in that scene, I felt like I was the guy with the toilet bowl...because I'm always taking the opportunities but what if the opportunity comes and goes by and there is still no hope? They tried to take an opportunity to make money because many people would be in the area but it didn't work out the way they thought. I'm successful in other peoples eyes but in my own self I feel like I just starting out and this movie portrayed what I feel, I related to it very well. This is my opinion...

Keeping up with hope

[monicapepe · 9/10 · 23 June 2019]

This film is about common characters struggling to survive, while family relationships, friendship, ambition, despair, loyalty, and hope struggle with each other to prevail. A simple worth watching Uruguayan jewel.