For 7 years I have researched Pope Pius XII's record during WWII, concentrating on the 1943-1944 period of German occupation of Rome. I have translated little-known documents in six foreign languages as well as English. I used that background to write a novella, "Silent Rescue," about what the Pope really did to help rescue the Jews during the Nazi occupation of Rome ("Silent Rescue," volume 1, on Kindle). Then I wrote a long book to show the research behind the novella ("Silent Rescue," volume 2, also on Kindle). The TV movie, "Sotto il Cielo di Roma," is well-intended and shows that the Pope would have made a public protest against the roundup of the Jews, as he threatened to do in the letter that he had Bishop Hudal send to General Stahel. But it is more complicated than that.The Pope and General Stahel had learned from the tragic example of the Dutch bishops in 1942, that such a protest would only provoke Hitler to kill even more Jews. The movie accurately shows the Pope burning his fiery protest against the Nazi extermination of the Jews as a result in 1942. There were three witnesses in the room to that action.What the TV movie leaves out is the fact that General Harster (absent from the TV movie) had been in charge of annihilating all the Dutch Jews in that reprisal in 1942. When the Nazis occupied Rome, Harster was also in charge of carrying out the Final Solution in Italy, to round up the Jews in Rome. It would have been entirely in character for Harster to carry out a savage reprisal if the Pope had made a public denouncement of the Nazi roundup of the Jews, like the Dutch bishops.The Pope had Bishop Hudal send a letter to General Stahel, threatening to make a public outcry anyway unless the roundup in Rome was ended. This alarmed General Stahel, who was aware of General Harster's role in the situation. He told Fr. Pfeiffer that it would be counter productive for the Pope to make any public protest. Instead General Stahel went over Harster's head and got Himmler to call off the roundup. But General Harster wanted revenge, so he met with General Wolff a few days later in Rome, and within a week General Stahel was fired. It cost Stahel his job and he ended up on the front lines in Russia. The Pope had learned his lesson – don't do as the Dutch bishops! 84% of Dutch Jews were killed. 84% of Italian Jews were rescued.

In spite of being a 'foreign films' fan, I hadn't been aware of this 2 episode 2010 release until an old girl-friend brought it to my attention on Netflix live streaming. Dragged kicking and screaming into it, I eventually found myself totally captivated with the history and directing. I've always been a James Cromwell follower, even though he often plays the dirty fellow. But in this release he has absolutely nailed-down a reversal in rolls with a deeply-convincing performance. OK, so there were a few lame efforts from less-than-perfect actors, but the intent was right there in your face. And in my humble-but-most-accurate opinion, all parts were sincere and played well into the story. I thought, in my 6 decades of viewing, some of the scenes were 'world class.' Especially near the end, Part 2, with the Pope face-to-face, alone, with the German officer responsible for many of the atrocities). Up until now, I had been totally unaware of this side of the Catholic efforts during WWII in Rome (I'm a Baptist), and was amazed to find myself fascinated with the depicting of it in this most appreciable movie. I think the history of this film, and its depiction, should be viewed by all serious movie fans and historians. It's worth the kicking and screaming.

The film portrays a colorful imaginary world where the Pope was AFRAID of Hitler and didn't know what to do (really the one representative of God on earth, doesn't know what to do? Really the man chosen as representative of God on earth---AFRAID OF Hitler? AFRAID OF DEATH?) This is ridiculous. What we know from history is that Pope Pius kept quiet. He kept quiet not because he feared the Nazis, because there is nothing to fear for a true believer.He kept quiet because he approved of what the Nazis were doing.The very ambiguity and lack of clarity of the Church's actions, shows clearly that the Pope and the Nazis were in collaboration. If the Pope believed that the Jews should be defended, he would have shouted it from all the rooftops and let the Nazis crucify him just like Jesus and die a heroes death. What better way for a Pope to die as a martyr than to sacrifice himself for the good cause? It's because the Pope did NOT believe the Jews should be defended that he stayed quiet.Unfortunately, a lot of Catholic reviewers and apologists for the Pope scour the earth to repaint history in a way that made the Pope seem like a hero who just couldn't do much about the situation. These same apologists try to paint Hitler as an atheist when that is absolutely not true.Hitler was a life-long practicing member of the Catholic church till the day he died. The Nazis frequently met with the Catholic church and had agreements with them.You think if the Catholic church was afraid of dying to Nazis, that is insane. The Catholics, if they truly believed they were being persecuted would gladly sacrifice themselves and stand up to those that commit evil (like the Nazis) if they truly believed the Nazis were evil.

OK, where to begin! Talk about milking it and over dramatizing, this film is trying really really hard. The lead actress is so hard to watch and listen to, she's pretty and I guess that's why she was cast, her acting is shallow, wooden, nothing draws me into her character, it feels like she's just saying her lines, but does not embody her character. Maybe with time she'll grow as an actress, that's always the hope. Of course the director must take responsibility in the casting as he has final say and seems intent on casting cute peeps rather then real actors, though many of the actors were fine. Cromwell is always excellent. I can see why they only produced two episodes. The subject matter is always interesting, well mostly,