Translated by Irene Cecchi
The Vatican. Secret rooms. Cardinals side-eyeing each other, whispering, scheming. Conclave by Edward Berger is a film that takes us inside the very heart of one of the most entrenched spiritual and political powers in the world without demanding too much faith but just a bit of attention.
At the center of the story is Cardinal Lawrence, played by Ralph Fiennes, who moves through solemn ceremonies and political games with a weary, disillusioned air. He’s no saint, no hero: just a man trying to hold everything together as it all begins to unravel. More than a religious figure, he’s a bureaucrat of the soul, caught between the need to believe and the burden of knowing too much.
The film revolves around the conclave following the Pope’s death, obviously. A few days, locked away in a place where time seems suspended but where every second counts. The tension is constant —never shouted, but always present— expressed through glances, pauses and slowly closing doors. More than a thriller, it’s a study of power disguised as a political drama. And power here has clasped hands, but sharp and calculating eyes.
Berger directs with a restrained, almost geometric style, marked by touches reminiscent of Kubrick. The cinematography is cold and clean, the shots are as ordered as the rows of praying cardinals. But beneath the surface lies disorder, uncertainty and fear. The sacredness is merely a mask: what truly matters are alliances, strategies, secrets. And the film isn’t afraid to show it.
A key character—the famous “cardinal in pectore”—arrives like a rogue variable. His presence shifts the balance, opens cracks and brings to light everything that had been buried under perfect robes and diplomatic smiles. He’s the turning point that throws everything into question, right up to the very last minute.
The pacing is measured, at times slow, but never boring. It’s a film that doesn’t rush, drawing the viewer in gradually and holding their attention without easy solutions or big emotional climaxes. Even the ending, unexpected yet credible, leaves something to reflect on. Not a twist for its own sake, but an open question: who really rules?
Conclave doesn’t aim to dazzle, but to unsettle with elegance. It doesn’t give answers, but stages a world where even those who pray feel fear and where the line between faith and power is thin, sometimes invisible. It won’t be a film for everyone, but for those curious to step into those closed rooms and truly listen to what happens when the white smoke fades... it’s worth the time it demands.
Released in cinemas at the end of 2024, the film is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris, where religion is just the backdrop too. What truly interests the German director —already awarded for All Quiet on the Western Front— is the apparatus of power surrounding the Church, its opaque systems and its internal tensions.
It’s a political thriller masked as a spiritual drama, set in one of the most secretive places in the world: the papal conclave.
Now, more than ever, is the right time to watch it, to understand what it truly means to become Pope in 2025 and what strategies of influence are in play when the outcome must lead to a single result: the white smoke.
Don’t believe anyone who says it’s available online: go to the cinema and fill the seats. On the big screen, it will look even more extraordinary.
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L'Autore
Jacopo Cantoni
Laureato in Cinema presso l'Alma mater Studiorum di Bologna, mi cimento nella scrittura di articoli inerenti a questo bellissimo campo, la Settima Arte. Attualmente frequento il corso Methods and Topics in Arts Management offerto dall'università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
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Conclave Edward Berger Papa Francesco Ralph Fiennes