The new film by Pif (stage name of Pierfrancesco Diliberto), “…che Dio pardon a tutti” (title taken from the complete proverb “Futti futti, che Dio pardon a tutti”) is a gentle provocation. The director brings one of his books to the stage and carves out the part of the dazed protagonist Arturo, while for his soul mate, Flora, he chooses Giusy Buscemi.

“…that God forgives everyone”: what Pif’s new film is about

Arturo is a savvy middle-aged real estate agent from Palermo who spends his days between sales of properties that aren’t exactly dreamlike, disastrous soccer games with friends and an unbridled passion for sweets. In particular, he loves Sicilian pastry making, which he has also turned into a hobby, dedicating himself to detailed and competent video reviews of the best delicacies in the city. As he says at a certain point, however, this passion makes his unchosen solitude sweeter, which ends when he meets Flora, a beautiful and enterprising young pastry chef. Daughter of a family of great pastry chefs from Palermo, the girl has the ambition of emancipating herself from her father and putting a little innovation into the great Sicilian classics.

The girl trusts Arturo to find the right place for her business and he falls in love in an instant. The two really seem made for each other, if it weren’t for one small detail: she is a fervent believer, he is not a Christian. A detail that, for the sake of peace, he hides for a long time, until the cards are revealed and Arturo, out of love, approaches the Gospel. She gets so close that she applies it to the letter in her daily life, causing one mess after another and leaving Flora herself taken aback. And this thanks to a truly special spiritual father: the Pope. A kind pontiff capable of understanding the things of the earth as well as those of heaven, who invites Arturo to have courage and open his heart, even when it is most risky.

Pif’s provocation and homage to Pope Francis

For a good part of “…that God forgives everyone”, Pif’s new film, we are left in doubt: what are we seeing? A comedy that invites conversion? A film that lashes believers who are not consistent in their worldly conduct? Or a provocation, softened by the sweetness of cannoli and cassata and by a surreal but profound dialogue with a recognizable and earthly Pope?

The doubts diminish as we get closer to the ending (which is placed, not by chance, at the beginning of the trailer, as a necessary premise that explains the meaning of the comedy) and we understand how this film is above all conceived as a gentle provocation, to make us reflect on the hypocrisy we often come across or with which we ourselves live: the hypocrisy of intransigence that forgives nothing to anyone except its own ego. And here the target is the inconsistency of those who live religious faith in this way, but the discussion is good for any other faith that dehumanizes us towards others and elevates us to judges ready to issue verdicts, only to then continually grant ourselves grace.

How should a Christian who truly follows the Gospel live? In a way that to the ultra-Catholics themselves would appear unacceptable or, in any case, bizarre and, above all, outside of any social compromise. The ending which clarifies the thesis of the work also makes clear another element, clear from the beginning, namely that this comedy is also a tribute to Pope Francis and his way of understanding his role and that of the Church. In between a slightly unrealistic love story, as surreal as the rest of the story, the Sicilian obsession with sweets and a disastrous Via Crucis which is the most comical moment of a strange but pleasant film.

Rating: 6.5

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