After the Pope dies, the Cardinal responsible for selecting a new Pope confronts numerous Cardinals who want his position but also hide dark secrets.
Meticulously written, shot and edited throughout all three acts. A lot could be said about one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events: selecting a new Pope. To most people, the process is unknown, or they know some facts. Reading about it over the years seems accurate, but ultimately, it’s beside the point. Based on the book, which also co-penned the script with Peter Straughan, the film begins, develops, and ends with the desired (to the filmmakers) result – I’ll explain in the end. Director Edward Berger, the man behind All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) – https://kaygazpro.com/all-quiet-on-the-western-front-2022-action-drama-war/, went for something entirely different this time.
From the central cardinals to the nuns to all players involved in the narrative, everyone gets a proper introduction and character development. Everyone counts, and everyone offers something to the setup, the confrontation and the resolution. The scandals unfold sequentially, and the way they are resolved is efficient. Between scandals, more secrets and religious and political views come to light, adding depth and suspending disbelief. Who will become the next Pope? Will he deserve it? How are we going to get to the “white smoke”? All these questions arise as the thriller escalates for almost two hours.
While I make it sound like a proper 5/5, it is not. From the viewer’s point of view, there are more questions: Could there literally be so many scandals – or could there be more? Could they have been resolved so methodically? Do certain statements have pedagogic intentions or pseudo-didactic? The answers to these questions lie entirely in how you want to perceive the film. Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, and Isabella Rossellini’s acting is solid, the production is superb, and some sentences carry significant depth, while others… well… it’s ambiguous who they aim: at the Church or the cinemagoers? Again, the answers are yours.
I guess the real mystery is whether people’s opinions about the Catholic Church will change after watching Conclave. I wonder what the filmmakers’ intentions were, really.
Thanks for reading!
Please, don’t forget to share and subscribe. If you enjoy my work and dedication to films, please feel free to support me on https://www.patreon.com/kaygazpro. Any contribution is much appreciated and valued.
Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
