If you’re ever hankering for a movie that will make you feel good, and give you hope for humanity, see if you can find a copy of Saving Grace somewhere. It took me years to find an old VHS copy which I have now ripped to DVD, but it was worth the hunt.

Edit: Now, thanks to the Internet, the film in its entirety (with ads, sadly, but better than nothing) is available at YouTube here.

Cardinal Bellini (Tom Conti) has been elected Pope, but he has a problem – he hates his job. All day it’s “Yes, your Holiness, ” “No, your Holiness,” and a schedule filled with meaningless bureaucracy and ceremonial visits. When he inadvertently locks himself out of the Vatican in gardening clothes, with no money and no identification, it’s the beginning of a charming adventure that helps him get back in touch with the people he was called to serve.

The story is heartwarming, and Conti and his supporting cast are brilliant throughout. This is not a multi-million-dollar production, but it easily remains my favorite movie of all time, just edging out “The Princess Bride” by a hair.

“What do the high-level depositors get… a sainthood?”

“Isabella, I will help your village find a priest.”

Pope in mufti.

It’s a great shame that the studios will copy a dog like “Batwoman” to DVD, but leave a treasure like this languishing in a vault somewhere.

Wish I could get the attention of someone at Columbia and have this properly remastered and burned to DVD.

The Old Wolf has spoken.