John Paul Times II

While ABC's film depicts the Nazis as an inconvenience, "Pope John Paul II" makes palpable the panic gripping the Poles as the Nazis approach and then occupy their country. Wojtyla is sitting in a Krakow classroom in 1939 when soldiers burst in, rip a cross off the wall and drag away the teacher. His last words to his students as he is carried off: "Do not forget who you are!" This has tremendous resonance throughout the film, especially when, as pope, Wojtyla returns to his native land and lends support to the Solidarity movement and leader Lech Walesa.

Although it might strike some as a token, "some of my best friends are" gesture, one of the pope-to-be's best childhood friends is in fact Jewish, and Wojtyla is as opposed to anti-Semitism as he is to fascism and, later, communism. The two men have a reunion in Rome as aging adults that is one of the film's most emotionally rewarding scenes.

The script is unusually successful at communicating the meaning of being spiritually gifted, portraying Wojtyla as earnest and moral without turning him into a goody-goody. His inspirations include the Polish archbishop (played by James Cromwell) who tells him, "This is the highest form of religion: to give hope to those who have none." Imaginative casting brings back some once-familiar faces not seen frequently in recent years. Ben Gazzara shows a heretofore untapped dignity as an elderly Vatican secretary and Christopher Lee, so frequently a menacing figure, is a sweetheart in the role of a Polish cardinal.

But the revelation is Voight, who of course has kept very busy as an actor in recent years, whether having a hammy old time in the ridiculous "Anaconda" or biting Kramer's arm on an episode of "Seinfeld." The man who immortalized Joe Buck, the two-bit hustler of "Midnight Cowboy," shows yet another side as the adult pope, able to make him a man of extraordinary generosity when it comes to sharing his passion for life. Restless for quests and causes, Voight's John Paul is agonized when infirmities restrict him, and these scenes are achingly poignant.

There's a comic side, meanwhile, to sequences in which Leonid Brezhnev and other commie muck-a-mucks wrestle with the thorny problem that the Polish pope presents for them, especially when he voices his empathy for Walesa. "Bringing communism to Poland," one of the bureaucrats groans, "is like trying to saddle a cow."

It is said of Wojtyla, during a Vatican conference in the 1960s, that he has "a remarkable talent to reach people," and we see this in Voight's eyes, expressions, in his every gesture. This kind of infectiousness isn't easy to convey without using cheap tricks that are the equivalent of licking the audience's face. Voight somehow combines stature and cuteness.

Although shot on a lavish scale in Italy, Poland and elsewhere, "Pope John Paul II" succeeds on intimate terms even when troops are marching or huge crowds are filling St. Peter's Square, and Elwes and Voight are largely responsible. The movie is honestly and actually about something -- about a man, yes, and about the value of belief, but also about that "remarkable talent" the pope has. It's the ability to instill joy in human hearts, and the film not only celebrates it but, in its finest moments, even possesses it.

Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II airs tonight at 8 on Channel 7.

Pope John Paul II will air Sunday at 9 p.m. and Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Channel 9.