Francis, On The Waterfront

Has Pope Francis really disclosed the entire list of his favorite movies?

With Pope Francis, every week, maybe two, there’s a blockbuster of an interview it seems. Or rather it seemed. Perhaps these blockbusters have been so frequent that they hardly seem to move the needle because, “he gave another interview!” has turned into “he gave another interview… so what.”

However, last week, his first lengthy interview after his election, the one that was published around the globe in Jesuit periodicals came to my mind. In it Francis listed some of his favorites, including music (Mozart and Wagner), literature (Dostoevsky and Hölderlin), and film (La Strada and Rome, Open City).

The Holy Father did elaborate that he identified with La Strada because of an implicit reference to St. Francis. He also talked about his general love of tragic artists, “especially classical ones”. If this is the case, I can only imagine that the Pope neglected to mention Columbia Pictures 1954 classic, On the Waterfront, because he’s never seen it. Since I have not seen La Strada, I’ll take the Pope’s word that there’s an implicit reference to St. Francis, if he’ll take my word that his pontificate is much like Fr. Barry’s mission, acted masterfully by Karl Malden in On the Waterfront.

In fact, for those “trying to read” or understand Pope Francis, I’d encourage them to watch this film. Even if it is no longer a blockbuster, it is surely a classic, and you’d be hard pressed to not find shades of Francis, and his concern for the peripheries in Fr. Barry down on those New Jersey docks.

Before I get into the film, I think it is worth noting that Karl Malden (Fr. Barry) played the part of a real priest, a Jesuit to boot, by the name of Fr. John M Corridan SJ. It was his fight against organized crime and corruption along the literal waterfront that became the inspiration for Malden’s character. Brando’s character was inspired by Anthony De Vincenzo, whose whistle-blowing efforts as a longshoreman failed. The film however has a triumphant ending. Other have suggested that Malloy (Brando) walks a personal via dolorosa and leads the embattled longshoremen to freedom following his ignominious defeat in an unfair fist fight.

While Brando’s “I coulda been a contender…” scene is what is most remembered from the movie, the “Sermon on the Docks” by Malden really is the most prescient part of the film, especially in attempting to show the commonalities with Pope Francis. This is especially poignant with Francis’s trip to Lampadusa and subsequent trips into mob strongholds.

In the "Sermon on the Docks,” Fr. Barry puts the moral issues of the waterfront in a Christological light: "Some people think the Crucifixion only took place on Calvary. They better wise up… every time the mob puts the crusher on a good man — tries to stop him from doing his duty as a citizen — it’s a crucifixion… Christ is always with you… And He’s saying with all of you, if you do it to the least of mine, you do it to Me!"

It is a phenomenal scene, in a classic movie, but more than that, it may be the best Americanized lense we have to understand Pope Francis. So when the next blockbuster of an itnerview comes out, refer back to one of America's best blockbusters at the big screens and maybe things won't seem so sensational afterall.

PS – I learned after watching the film, that it made the list of the Vatican’s 100 Greatest Movies of all time (I also learned that the Vatican has a list of the 100 Greatest Movies of all time: http://archive.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml ). Turns out Pope Francis’s pick of La Strada is right near the top of that list