Pope Joan

Pope Joan is a historical drama about a woman in ninth-century Europe who refuses the limited life set out for her and, disguised as a man, makes her way into the clergy and up the hierarchy of the Church. Born in 814 in the German city of Ingelheim to English parents, Johanna is convinced that a different fate awaits her. Her love for the nobleman Gerold, who leaves to fight in a war, pushes her to follow her own calling: she enters a Benedictine monastery under the name Johannes, trains as a physician, travels to Rome, and gradually gains the favour of the Pope. The film is based on Donna Woolfolk Cross's novel about the legendary female pope, a figure the Catholic Church has never officially recognised, and it stays with the tension between Johanna's hidden identity and the intrigue surrounding the papal throne.

Sönke Wortmann directed, from a screenplay by Heinrich Hadding, with Oliver Berben producing. Johanna Wokalek plays the title role; David Wenham appears as Gerold, John Goodman as Pope Sergius II, and Iain Glen, Edward Petherbridge and Anatole Taubman are among the twenty credited cast members. The film sits between Wortmann's comedy Maybe... Maybe Not (1994) and his later How About Adolf? (2018). Made across Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Morocco and the United States, it took about 29 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.7/10 from around 9,400 votes, and on TMDB 6.8/10 from roughly 367 votes.