Holy Cannoli is a delicious film. Full of pastries oozing crema, the glories of Sicily, the trials and tribulations of love, commentary on how to be a good Catholic and the visionary appearance of a pope. Source: Australian Catholics.
All ingredients to make this film easily digestible and feel good. It is based on Pif’s 2018 bestselling novel Che Dio Perdona a Tutti (God forgives everyone) and the director also stars in the film.
The main character is Arturo (Pif), a successful real estate agent who has a passion for authentic Sicilian pastry. He helps the daughter of a renowned pastry chef find a place to set up her own pastry business where she hopes to be a bit more experimental.
After calling round every day for two weeks to check on how she is getting on, the amore starts. Flora (Buscemi) is a devout Catholic and Arturo thinks that another way to secure her heart is for him to pretend to be Catholic. He finds himself playing Jesus in the annual Stations of the Cross reenactment and is caught out when he doesn’t know his Bible lines. Flora feels betrayed and Arturo is heartbroken because he really loves her.
He comes into possession of a Bible and begins to take the message of loving neighbour and stranger to heart. He can no longer lie to clients about houses he is trying to sell, and he begins to appear preachy when he suggests to his boss (Scienna) that an affair is cheating. This is his metanoia (change of heart) conversion.
His new do-goodedness gets on Flora’s nerves and a discussion ensues as to what it is to live a Christian life.
There are scenes of Arturo chatting to the Pope, who tells him that love is God’s miracle and that the Catholic faith should not simply be a comfortable armchair.
There were touches of comedy in the film; a good few laughs, flashbacks to childhood, soccer games and a satirical playfulness in looking at the Catholic and culinary traditions that hold a community together.
Watch the end footage of the younger Pif interacting with Pope Francis. It helps to explain the genesis of the film and ties things up well. A sweet treat. Commended.
Review by Ann Rennie, Jesuit Media
Holy Cannoli/Che Dio Perdona A Tutti: Starring Pif, Giusy Buscemi, Carlos Hipolito, Francesco Scianna. Directed by Pif (Pierfrancesco Diliberto). 113 minutes. Rated M (Coarse language).
FULL REVIEW
Holy Cannoli (Australian Catholics)
