Aaic: Papal Basilicas Of Rome Movie Review

Sky 3D and the Vatican Television Centre (CTV) have once again collaborated after the massive success of "Vatican Museums 3D", the most seen art movie in theaters, to bring yet another movie with exclusive vintage points - "Art and architecture in Cinemas: Papal Basilicas Of Rome 3D." The movie boasts of the use of latest generation 3D and 4K technology.

Plot: As the name says, it's about the four Papal Basilicas of Rome namely St. Peter's, St Paul Outside the Walls, St Mary Major, and St. John in the Lateran. The documentary is made in the interest of the year of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (8 Dec 2015 to 20 Nov 2016) declared by Pope Francis and includes never seen before views of the art enshrined within the walls of these churches. It starts off from the Early Christian Basilica, goes through the medieval works and finally ends with Renaissance art.

Stendhal, a French writer, visited these basilicas in early 19th century, and recorded his experience in his book, "The Roman Journal". The narrative of this documentary, done by Adriano Giannini, is a recitation of Stendhal's book. Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, discusses the St Peter's. Paolo Portoghesi, a renowned architect, takes us through St John in the Lateran. Claudio Strinati, the art historian, talks about the history and art of St Mary Major.

Finally, Micol Forti, director of the Vatican Museums Collection of Contemporary Art, provides an in-depth analysis of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Not only is the art covered, but the lives of artists and the Popes of respective times is spoken about, too. An appreciable amount of detail with extraordinary visuals is this documentary in a nutshell.

Verdict: This is a very emotionally involving movie and is a great watch. Anybody who plans to be there for the opening of Holy Doors, or would just like to know about the magnificence of papal basilicas in exceptional detail should watch this.