"The Shoes of The Fisherman" with Anthony Quinn, Oskar Werner and David Janssen (1968)

One of the main reasons I took this film out was to simply watch, and listen to, Oskar Werner, who plays a conflicted Priest in this high drama set in Rome during the 1980's. The film was made in 1968, and therefore assumes a lot about the direction of global affairs over the next 20 years. Notwithstanding, this is a very well made film, with many things to be said about world politics and religion. Who really drives the train?

Archbishop Kiril Lakota, played by Anthony Quinn, a Priest from the Ukraine, is freed after 20 years in Siberia, imprisoned for his religious beliefs. He is freed at the request of the Vatican, and on the verge of a nuclear confrontation between China and Russia, resulting from a widespread famine in China. This famine was caused by trade restrictions imposed by the United States. Once he arrives in Rome he meets the troubled Priest David Telemond. Father Telemond is undergoing an investigation into his beliefs, which at times seem to be at odds with church doctrine. His real crime, of course, is his expression of these beliefs. They pose a threat to those in power.

Upon his arrival at the Vatican, Archbishop Kiril is made Cardinal Priest by the Pope himself, which places Kiril in the line of succession, should anything happen to the Pope. When the Pope, played by Sir John Gielgud, does pass away, the College of Cardinals vote, seven times, to name a new Pope. When they become deadlocked in their decision, the Cardinals elect Kiril as the new leader of one of the world's largest religious denominations. He will be called Pope Kiril I.

Serving as a guide throughout the movie is David Janssen, who plays a news reporter, plagued by his own self-doubts, and a troubled marriage. His doubts and questions mirror those of Pope Kiril, as the Pontiff struggles with a world crisis and the investigation of Father Telemond. Somehow he must find a way to bring these separate, but equally important issues, into harmony.

The best scenes in this movie are all concerned with religious doctrine as Father Telemond is questioned about his faith. Oskar Werner is brilliant in his role as the beleaguered Priest. This may be one of his best performances ever, almost eclipsing his role as the East German Prosecutor in the film "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold."

Great performances by all, especially Oskar Werner and Anthony Quinn, with a multi-layered storyline, make this a film worth watching.

Cold War Duo- "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" by John LeCarre

I am a big fan of the Cold war. It had all the necessary elements for a good spy story on a daily basis. And they were true.


Growing up during the some of the hottest times in the Cold War was kind of exciting. The Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Wall. All of these real life dramas made interesting fodder for the writers of spy novels and the stories they spun. "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" is one of my all time favorites.

John LeCarre takes a man, a broken and tired man, Alec Leamus, and turns him into a political anti-hero. Here is a man who has been engaged in espionage against the Russians for a decade or more, who knows all the ropes, and yet finds himself caught in a web he inadvertently helps to create.
The book and the movie are almost identical. It is helpful to have read the book first, but not necessary. Alec Leamus is asked by MI5 to leave the agency on the pretext of not having gained promotion due to his drinking. Richard Burton plays the part in the movie and his own public struggles with alcoholism make this role very believable.
As he skids down the path of his affliction he takes a job as a research librarian, filing books in a private collection. There he meets a woman named Liz, played in the movie by Claire Bloom, with whom he forms an instant connection. Two lonely people trapped in their own gray and dreary lives. The film is in black and white. It is an accurate depiction of England at that time, still reeling from the ravages of World War Two. Rationing didn't formally end until 1965. Both the novel and the movie capture this aspect with perfection.
When Alec defects to the Russian side for a price, at the direction of his superiors, a chain of events ensues that brings sharply into focus both the differences and the similarities of what we call Freedom and the other side calls Communism. Both sides have agendas. Both sides resort to unthinkable means in order to obtain their respective goals.
Caught in a struggle between a principled Communist Party member who tries Leamus for espionage, and a ruthless ex-Nazi who may be a British double agent, Leamus finds himself in the grips of a plot that will either reinforce his beliefs or tear them apart, revealing them as the other side of the same coin.
The book is riveting, as is the movie. Richard Burton gives one of his finest performances as the troubled spy. And Claire Bloom is exceptional as a woman torn between her beliefs and the reality with which she finds herself confronted.
Stark and intense writing give the book the feel of the gray and colorless world of Communism in Eastern Europe at the time. Stark and intense direction by Martin Pitt transfer these elements to the screen with perfection.