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''Pope Joan'' ((ドイツ語:Die Päpstin)) is an international epic film produced by Bernd Eichinger, based on American novelist Donna Woolfolk Cross' novel of the same name about the legendary Pope Joan. Directed by Sönke Wortmann, it stars Johanna Wokalek as Joan, David Wenham as Gerold, her lover, and John Goodman as Pope Sergius II. The film's world premiere occurred in Berlin on 19 October 2009, with its general release in Germany on 22 October 2009. ==Plot== Shortly after the death of Charlemagne, a woman called Joan is born in Ingelheim am Rhein. She is the daughter of a village priest (Iain Glen). He also rules his wife (Jördis Triebel) and family with a rod of iron, though his Saxon wife still secretly worships the pagan god Wotan. Even so, Joan grows up to be an articulate girl, who intensively studies the Bible, unbeknownst to her father. After her eldest brother's sudden death, their father wants to send his second son John to the cathedral school in Dorestad, but when the teacher Aesculapius (Edward Petherbridge) visits them in Ingelheim, Joan proves to be far more capable of dealing with the Scriptures than John. Against her father's wishes, Joan is taught by Aesculapius, who introduces her to literary works such as Homer's ''Odyssey''. When a messenger comes from the bishop to collect Joan to take her to the cathedral school, her father claims there has been a mistake and allows him to ride away with his other son. Joan flees her home at night and finds her brother, next to the body of the slain messenger. They reach Dorestad together, where the bishop reacts to Joan's strong words with great surprise, and the teacher Odo (Marc Bischoff) unwillingly takes her into his class. Count Gerold (David Wenham), however, supports the now-adolescent Joan by taking her into his home. Later Gerold falls in love with her. Soon afterwards, Gerold has to go to war in the army of Lothair I and his wife Richilde (Claudia Michelsen) takes advantage of his absence to try to arrange a marriage for Joan and thus get rid of her rival for Gerold's affections. However, the vikings break into the city during the wedding ceremony and carry out a bloody massacre, which Joan barely manages to survive. Joan flees the town in a male disguise, entering the Fulda monastery of Benedictines as "Brother Johannes Anglicus". When a fever spreads around the monastery and Joan becomes ill, she manages to avoid a physical examination, thanks to an elderly monk, who had realized she was a woman long before the fever hit. She flees the monastery and is sheltered, as a woman, by Arn (Marian Meder), the son of a woman she had helped years earlier. Arn makes her a tutor to his daughter Arnalda. Joan decides to re-assume her male disguise and goes on a pilgrimage to Rome to use her medical knowledge to become a ''Medicus'' there. In Rome she wins a great reputation by curing Pope Sergius II of gout with her herbal remedies. Sergius makes her his personal physician and eventually Nomenclator. When the pope threatens Lothair I for not confirming his election, Lothair marches to Rome to subdue Sergius. Using a hydraulic device, the great door of the papal palace closes all by itself, seen as an Act of God. Pope Sergius threatens Lothair and his soldiers with God's wrath if they do not pay their respect. Lothair's soldiers all kneel, with Lothair following. Fascinated by what he has seen, Gerold—who came with Lothair—recognizes Joan and reveals his desire for her. She is torn between her male and female identities. Meanwhile, Lothair's ally Anastasius successfully plots to murder Sergius, but the people elect Joan as his successor by acclamation. During her pontificate she presents herself as a charitable pope, helping women and children and appointing Gerold as head of the papal army. However, she becomes pregnant and her reign is then in grave danger. She tries to hold off giving birth until after Easter, but Gerold is killed during the Easter procession by conspirators led by Anastasius, and that day Joan collapses and then dies in childbirth. Anastasius succeeds her but soon afterwards he is deposed by the Roman people and exiled to a monastery. There he writes the ''Liber Pontificalis'', a list of the popes, from which he omits Joan. Many years later the story of the female pope is made known by Bishop Arnaldo, who is revealed to be, in fact, Arnalda, the daughter of Arn. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pope Joan (2009 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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