Adapted from Robert Harris’s bestselling novel, the Oscar-winning film imagines what goes on behind the scenes of a secret process full of intrigue, slander and leaks.

As rival factions of cardinals maneuver to elect the next pope, U.S. Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) rejects the suggestion that he used stolen documents to smear his rival. His decision is not based entirely on moral grounds. “I would be the Richard Nixon of popes,” he says in a scene that captures the insightful plot, wit, and colorful characters at Conclave. The film takes us behind the scenes of the secretive, ritualized process that goes on in the Vatican after a pope dies, but it plays like a refreshingly contemporary political thriller. Edward Berger, All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) Winner of the Oscar for best international film, it directs with great sensitivity and fidelity to real-life encounters, capturing a pivotal conflict: This ancient ritual is now making its way into the media-inundated 21st Century.

This connection between the ancient and the modern actually inspired Robert Harris’s 2016 bestselling novel of the same name and became the basis for the film. Harris told the BBC that he came up with the idea in 2013, while he was finishing the Cicero Trilogy of novels set in ancient Rome, when he watched news about the election of Pope Francis. Harris says: “Just before the (new) Pope reveals himself on the balcony, the windows on either side fill with the faces of the cardinal electors who have come to watch him. I looked at their faces, they were all old men, sly. Some were very good-natured and holy, some looked quite sarcastic and said, ‘Oh my.’ “I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m looking at the Roman Senate.'” He observed: “There was an all-male board of directors and these old men running the whole thing was a direct link to the Roman Republic”. Later, when he began investigating the conclaves of cardinals, he says: “I thought the politics were completely riveting.”

Ralph Fiennes centers the film with his Oscar-winning performance, bringing sincere moral strength to his role as Lawrence, the fair-minded British Cardinal assigned to preside over the conclave, even though his confidence in his own profession is shaken. The story begins with the death of the Pope, and the filmmakers did extensive research to capture the authentic details of a conclave. Cardinals come from around the world and live in the simple rooms of Casa Santa Marta, a dormitory-like building. Once the conclave begins, they are placed in isolation, surrender their phones and other devices, have their internet access or all news from the outside world cut off, and are sworn to secrecy. They vote in detail in the Sistine Chapel, writing the name of the future pope on a piece of paper, which is then placed on a silver plate and placed in a jar. Voting continues every day until the Pope is elected. All true except that the Casa Santa Marta and Sistine Chapel in the movie were built at Cinecitta Studios in Rome.

All the fancy decorations, accurate details and bright red cardinal hats don’t get in the way of equally realistic political power struggles. Berger tells the BBC that the cardinals’ humanitarian passions are similar to those of any institution. “The CEO is gone and people are going to start fighting, they’re going to take out their knives and find that job, in this case in Washington D.C. or the Church,” he says. “We think of it as an ancient spiritual ritual, and we kind of consider these guys sacred, too. We put them on this pedestal, and when you look closer, they’ll have cell phones, they’ll be smoking, they’ll be smoking. The same problems and vices and secrets that we do end up in a plastic body bag like the rest of us.” “This was important to me, to bring them to modernity.”

Harris says she “wanted to reflect the real divisions that exist within the church, as well as in secular politics.” As in today’s politics, the fictional opponents are divided into rigid liberal and conservative camps. Bellini, one of the pioneers, was a bearer of liberal standards and was open-minded on issues including the roles of women in the Church. The other leader is the conservative Italian Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), who desires a return to the Latin Mass. Other contestants include Tremblay (John Lithgow), an enigmatic Canadian who hopes to become the first African Pope, Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati). and the little-known Benitez (Carlos Diehz), who has been secretly appointed Cardinal of Kabul (a post that doesn’t actually exist). Berger builds tension with a taut style that brings to mind political thrillers like All the President’s Men, as intrigues, leaks, and smears continue.

Outside the tranquility of the Sistine Chapel, Bellini says he doesn’t want the job, even as his supporters vote for him to block Tedesco. This plot twist isn’t even remotely forced. Dan Wakin, who reported for the New York Times on the conclaves that elected Pope Benedict .Such exposed ambition is a deal breaker.”

In a book-length interview published in April, Pope Francis He revealed that he unknowingly supported the candidate as a candidate in 2005 in order to prevent the election of conservative Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would become Pope Benedict. Even when the Cardinals are isolated, the media casts shadow. In the film, when a cardinal’s past is revealed by his rival in the conclave, Lawrence bluntly tells him, “You will never be Pope.” It refers to the well-known real life of the church scandals On the subject of clerical sexual abuse, he says: “Nothing scares our priests more than the thought of more sexual scandals.”

In the 15th century, Alexander VIIt is alleged that the Borgia bribed him to take office. In the 16th century, a conclave lasted 72 days, and when one of the dignitaries died, his poisoned. Back then, bankers in Rome were betting on who could win, creating a direct line from history to the circus-like atmosphere of today’s media world. In 2013, BBC the report said, “St. Peter’s Square has become a kind of Colosseum. There are TV tents at every vantage point waiting for the games to start.” Guard He was running the Choose Your Own Pope feature.

Today, some of the maneuvers are played out in public. Before voting began in 2013, American cardinals were forced to stop giving news briefings under pressure from other cardinals, while Italian cardinals were known to continue to infiltrate the media. print. But in the film, most of the vote-whipping still happens behind the scenes, before and after the conclave officially begins.

Wakin says that during this period “cardinals often dined together and could give clues as to who would be the best candidate”; it’s a reality that is a central element in the film—though the fictional cardinals do much more than provide clues.

While Berger acknowledges that Conclave is often driven by politics, he points out that there’s “a kind of deep second layer that’s what the film is really about,” namely Lawrence’s inner turmoil. “He’s having a crisis of faith. ‘As a cardinal, I’m having a hard time praying,’ he says. It’s as if I said, ‘I’m having a hard time trusting the images my camera takes.’ It’s an existential crisis.” Berger says the question should be relatable to audiences in general. “It could be about religion, but it could also be about inner confidence. That’s what really appealed to me and why I wanted to make this film,” he says.

Another low-key but important aspect of Conclave is Isabella Rossellini’s role as Sister Agnes, who is in charge of the nuns brought in to cook, clean, and generally serve the cardinals. They’re supposed to be quietly in the background, but as Agnes says in a plot-changing scene, “God gave us eyes and ears.” Berger says: “I always said to Isabella, when you’re on stage we really need to see you, see what you’re thinking, and be with you. That’s why she always had the close-up, she wasn’t just part of a scene.” “Patriarchy transcends this theme,” he adds.

All these simmering elements, including Agnes’ role, lead to a shocking ending that should not be spoiled. “I didn’t put in the ending just for a fun twist,” says Harris. “It’s built into the fabric of the novel and the film. It also got support from one of the background sources.” I was helped by British Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor – unfortunately he has passed away, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me telling.” After sending Murphy-O’Connor a copy of the book, Harris says: “To my surprise, wrote a fan letter about it: ‘This is exactly what a conclave is like. The center cardinal is exactly what we cardinals want it to be. “When it came to the end, I told myself it was just a novel.”