Pope Joan (2009 film)

Pope Joan German Die Ppstin 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 Snke Wortmann, it stars Johanna Wokalek as Joan, David Wenham as Gerold, her lover, and John Goodman as Pope Sergius II. The films world premiere occurred in Berlin onOctober 2009, with its general release in Germany onOctober 2009.

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 Joans strong words with great surprise, and the teacher Odo Marc Bischoff unwillingly takes her into his class. Count Gerold David Wenham, however, supports the nowadolescent 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 Gerolds 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 reassume 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 Gods

Source: Wikipedia