How much enthusiasm and how much grace, between story and glimpses of surreal comedy, in the narration of Pietro’s story done by Roberto Benigni! Keeping millions of viewers glued to the screen, in a gripping narrative lasting over two hours, on a topic that is certainly not one of the most popular, is a great success and never ceases to amaze.
The Tuscan comedian has long accustomed us to the dissemination of high topics, with his unmistakable style: the commandments, the Song of Songs, the Divine Comedy, the Constitution…
This time it was the turn of Pietro, a man in the wind. There are many moments of irresistible comedy, starting with the jokes about Peter’s mother-in-law (ok, the target was easy…): «One would expect Peter to say to Jesus: “She’s my mother-in-law, forget it, whatever’s going on!”, instead…».
In short, two hours that flow by lightly and yet profoundly. He reminded me of a professor at the Gregorian University, who began his course on the history of the Church by having fun surprising the students: «Peter, first Pope, married».
Benigni’s show, in the splendid setting of the Vatican Gardens, tells “his” Saint Peter by retracing the story of man from the beginning, on the shores of Lake Galilee where Jesus “fascinates” him, up to the upside down crucifixion, handed down to us by apocryphal stories.
The comedian tells us about his enthusiasm, but also his fragility, his little faith (these are Jesus’ words, Matthew 14.31), his instinctive reactions… and above all the great love that binds him to Christ. And it is precisely love that is the underlying theme of the monologue, as also noted by Pope Leo, who was invited to attend the preview screening.
But more than retracing the show (to be seen again on RaiPlay), I would like to focus on another aspect. Benigni manages to blend elements of history, spirituality, even high exegesis (he cites the historians’ “embarrassment criterion”: the episodes of the Gospel which are embarrassing for the way in which they depict the leader of the apostles cannot have been invented, therefore they are true). And in doing so, he weaves an exciting story about who Jesus is and his revolutionary teaching.
Inner strength and ironic flashes make old and “well-known” words seem new. Like someone who removes the dust from “old” things and makes the voice of the Gospels resonate immediately. Of course, you might say, he’s a comedian by trade. True, but there were medieval preachers who, on Easter day, did everything to make people laugh and convey the joy of the resurrection (the famous risus paschalis).
Benigni, a modern jester, plays on the surprise effect, on amplification, on the ability to tell stories, to make the Gospel become “entertainment” (in the most beautiful sense of the term) and life. Because it is by warming the heart with beauty – as well as illuminating the mind with concepts – that certain words “arrive” and capture people.
An art that is certainly not for everyone, and which we cannot simply imitate. But the Gospel needs lovers: like Peter, like Benigni, like many unknown Christians who have discovered the Good News and wish, each in their own way, to echo it by transmitting the wonder of this discovery to others.
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