Red-125 El Baño del Papa (2007) written and directed by César Charlone and Enrique Fernández, was shown in the U.S. with the title, "The Pope's Toilet." The film stars César Troncoso as the small-time smuggler Beto, and Virginia Méndez as Carmen, his loving but cautious wife. The Pope is going to pay a visit to Melo, a small Uruguayan city near the Brazilian border. The residents of Melo are in a fever of anticipation about the visit, especially about the thousands of Brazilian tourists who will come across the border to be present at this historical moment.Beto, like all his friends and neighbors, is caught up in the almost ritualistic excitement. He has the creative thought of constructing a pay toilet for the tourists as his means of finally making some real profits.The rest of the plot hinges on Beto's schemes to acquire enough capital to construct the toilet, and to get the project finished before the Pope arrives. In order to do this, he has to come to terms with people other than the "honest" small-scale tradesmen who purchase his smuggled household goods. He strikes a deal with the devil, although there were varied opinions within our group of just who the bad guy was. (He was obviously a bad guy, and he had power over Beto, but we weren't sure of his exact role. I think he was the local customs officer.)The acting in the film was uniformly good, and the two leads were outstanding. The locations seemed authentic to me, although I have no way to judge this. The subtitles were fine.We saw this film at Rochester's Dryden Theatre, as part of the excellent Rochester Labor Film Festival. It will probably work very well on a small screen. It's an interesting, if flawed film, and worth seeing as long as you don't expect a masterpiece. Let's face it--Uruguayan films don't come along every day, at least they don't come along in Rochester. "The Pope's Toilet" is a way to enter a culture that is like our own in very basic ways, but far different from our culture in practical, day-to-day matters.*Note* Avoid the trailer for this film. It gives away the plot and the best lines.

petresti96 This is a movie about hope,friendship and the building rock of a society - the family.In the beginning I thought that religion would play a prominent role in the movie, but that was me rushing things up.The people of Melo, a town in Uruguay, put their "thinking hats" once the visit of Pope John Paul II is anounced.These people envision a sea of visitors running through their town and prepare adequately,making sacrifices, only to be left with a broken dream and empty pockets..In the beginning people make fun of their hazardous life, and in the end the same people defy the odds of life by turning on the other chick.To higher spirits,salute !

agfcarrara The movie broke my heart. I was so proud of the daughter when a tear emerged upon realizing and admiring her father's effort. The scene practising the use of the toilet with "clients" was fabulous.The contrast between what I have and what they haven't is too extreme, YET they do have two supreme possessions -- faith and friendship.The photography was impressive and the poverty was perfectly illustrated.The movie offers no possible way to better the economic status of these dear people. Their lack of money is unrelenting.They could do well in business as they have ideas, are resourceful and hard working. The world is the loser when the creativity of people goes untapped.

CarNen Excellent actors achieve a perfect description of how people live, work and feel in the Uruguayan towns bordering Brazil. They need very few quick words to tell you everything about the characters they represent.In spite of all their problems it still sends a very positive message about the efforts of this family to stay together. They are really concerned about the future of their daughter. Both parents go to extremes for the well being of their small family. The expressions of the silent face of the daughter tell you everything in her mind.It is a very sad subject but very well treated with delicate touches of humor.A bit too slow for today's viewer accustomed to fast action but, still an excellent movie.Maybe not as good as "Whisky" but in the same league of the several Uruguayan movies we have seen lately. Quite different but as good as "El viaje hacia el Mar".It is a film that leaves the viewer looking for hidden and not so hidden messages from its creators.It shows very clearly and graphically the contrast between the opulence of the trip of the Pope and his multiple assistants and the local poverty.The close-ups of the pope mobile stress the two different worlds; the Pope's and the people's.Is that a message to the church asking for a modernization of their public relations strategy?The TV reporter has no problem broadcasting news he has not confirmed. He talks about a long line of buses waiting to cross the borderline from Brazil, filled with visitors raising the expectations of the viewers.The many interviews with people who are planning to profit from the Pope's visit feed the hopes of many others without any real basis.Is that a message to the media, asking for more ethical reporting?