As the Pope’s plane headed south out of Britain after his visit in 2010, there was an extraordinary privilege for one of the journalists aboard the flight. Richard Owen, who had been the Rome reporter for The Times for 15 years, was about to retire: and to mark the end of his time shadowing his work, Pope Benedict invited him into his section of the plane for an audience.

It was, as Owen said later in his report, not something he expected to happen. The previous four days had taken the Pontiff across Britain and had seen him at the centre of a hectic schedule, with hundreds of people to meet and many crowds to address. He was almost certainly exhausted from the trip, and would not have the energy to meet Owen, despite his impending retirement.

But he did; and during their chat, the journalist reminded the former head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that they had once been neighbours in the Borgo, an area of cobbled medieval streets near St Peter’s. The owner of their local hardware store, Owen recalled, remembered the then Cardinal Ratzinger calling in for lightbulbs; the chemist along the street remembered him buying Vitamin C tablets; and the waiters at a nearby restaurant, Da Roberto’s, remembered him being a regular customer.

What Moretti’s movie does, fascinatingly, is to take us inside the Sistine Chapel itself – the place where, surrounded by Michelangelo’s masterpieces, the election takes placeAccording to Owen, the Pope looked wistful when he was reminded of their shared neighbourhood, and those days. When Owen asked him whether he missed the simple pleasures of everyday life now he was Pope, he looked more wistful still. Would he like to walk through the Borgo as he used to, Owen asked. ‘It is no longer possible,’ he said; and Owen could hear there was regret in his voice. ‘It is no longer possible,’ he repeated softly, under his breath.

I was reminded of this incident a few days ago when I saw a preview of Habamus Papam, Italian actor/director Nanni Moretti’s latest movie. It’s the story of a conclave: the opening shots show the death of Pope John Paul II, his funeral in St Peter’s Square, and the cardinals gathering around his coffin. A few days later the square is packed with pilgrims again: but this time, they are watching the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, waiting for the white smoke signal which will signify the event of the film’s title: that ‘we have a Pope’, and a new Pontiff has been elected.

The scenes in the piazza, with thousands of people gazing up hopefully to the sky, are faithful enough to what happens at each and every conclave, as all of us know: but what Moretti’s movie does, fascinatingly, is to take us inside the Sistine Chapel itself – the place where, surrounded by Michelangelo’s masterpieces, the election takes place. Of course Moretti has no more idea what goes on inside a conclave than anyone else does; all of us, except for cardinals who have taken part in them previously, are unaware of what takes place behind those most closed of all closed doors.

'The Pope, who is supposed to be a holder of dogmas, is actually full of doubt and questions – for himself, for the viewer and for the Catholic church'What we see in the film are several ballots: and then, at last, there is a majority vote. The fictional cardinal elected, whose name is Melville, was not considered a frontrunner by the media – and it’s clear that he doesn’t want the cup he’s being offered. But when asked if he accepts the conclave’s decision, he says he does; and it’s only as the doors open to the balcony above the square, and the words ‘Habemus Papam’ have been uttered, that he decides the burden of the pontificate is not, after all, for him. He recoils from the doors; the cardinals melt back in confusion; out on the square, there is incomprehension. Who is the new Pope? More to the point, where is he?

What follows is an often-amusing, sometimes thought-provoking drama in which Melville ‘escapes’ from the Vatican, and becomes an ordinary man wandering the streets of Rome, dipping into people’s lives and re-examining what his own is all about.

Which is what made me think of Richard Owen’s encounter with Pope Benedict, and his sadness as he remembered that life he once lived in the Borgo. Because the truth is that we hardly ever think of the human being behind the papacy; we hardly ever think that there’s a real person in there, and that real person’s connection with the outside world will never be the same again from the day he becomes Pope.

Director Moretti says he wanted to show the Pope getting the chance to sample ‘real life’ in a way that isn’t usually possible for someone in his positionDirector Moretti says he wanted to show the Pope getting the chance to sample ‘real life’ in a way that isn’t usually possible for someone in his position. ‘He strolls around the city where he finds himself in situations which he had not experienced for a long time,’ he says. ‘His wandering leads him and the audience to ask themselves certain questions.’

What he wanted to do, says Moretti, was ‘blend comedy and drama in one film’. He acknowledges that, like everyone else, he does not know everything about a conclave; but, he says, the rituals that we know about were respected, so the film could be as accurate as possible.

Moretti has a history of playing one of the key figures in his films – so did he consider the idea of playing the Pope? ‘I never entertained the idea of being the protagonist,’ he has said. ‘I thought it would be a much more interesting idea to have an older person with doubts in that situation.’

One of the most interesting themes in the film concerns the juxtaposition of the character Moretti does play – the psychoanalyst – and the Pope, because due to a twist in the plot the former ends up trapped in the Vatican, while the Pope is allowed to roam the city. ‘The analyst is supposed to be open to ideas in his work, but he is actually a prisoner of his own dogma – even when it comes to setting up a volleyball tournament,’ Moretti said when the film was launched in Rome. ‘The Pope, who is supposed to be a holder of dogmas, is actually full of doubt and questions – for himself, for the viewer and for the Catholic church.’ Flipping traditional ideas around was one of his ambitions with the film – and it’s certainly one he seems to have dwelt on.

We Have a Pope is currently showing in Picture House and Curzon cinemas across the UK. For more details see their websites. The film will be released on DVD in the spring.