Karol: A Man Who Became Pope (, ) is a 2005 TV miniseries written and directed by Giacomo Battiato, and created as a Polish-Italian-French-German and Canadian joint cooperation project. Karol is a biography of Karol Wojtyła, later known as Pope John Paul II, 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 Canale 5 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 - Karol Józef Wojtyła
Małgosia Bela - Halina Kwiatkowska "Hania" Raoul Bova - Priest Tomasz Zaleski Matt Craven - Hans Frank Ken Duken - Adam Zieliński Hristo Shopov - Julian Kordek Ennio Fantastichini - Nowak Olgierd Łukaszewicz - Karol Wojtyła (senior) Lech Mackiewicz - Stefan Wyszyński Radosław Pazura - Paweł Violante Placido - Maria Pomorska Grażyna Szapołowska - 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
By Ennio Morricone released in 2007 on 2 CDs.