What does it take to be a good father? What kind of person should hold power in the Church? Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is appointed to lead the conclave after the unexpected death of the Pontiff, placing these questions at the center of the debate that will now mark every conversation, silence and argument in the Vatican. And with them, a whole arsenal of power struggles that will lead the most powerful leaders of the institution to plot to find out who deserves to be the protagonist of the new white smoke.
The process is not easy, because the election will also involve facing the miseries, scandals and corruption that also reign in the corridors of the Holy See.
“We’ve had worse,” is the argument put forward by one of the bishops as he analyzed the candidates one by one, to excuse their past mistakes. These alliances are at the heart of ConclaveEdward Berger’s new feature film, which, along with his previous film, The War All is quiet on the frontwon four Oscars in 2023, including Best International Feature Film and Best Cinematography for James Friend. The German filmmaker returns with a film destined to once again occupy its place in the awards season, starting with the San Sebastian Festival, where it competes in its official section.
The film is intelligent, very entertaining and biting; and is guided by several very unexpected and effective twists, which manage to twist more and more on the screen a seemingly timeless story, but which overflows with relevance in all its plans. Not only because of the way it unveils the miseries of the Church, but also because of the way it delves into its plots as if Game of Thrones located in the Vatican, it will be. The desire for control is something that escapes religion and extends to all social strata, whether it is the organization within families, business leaders or governments.
Fiennes brings out in the face of the cardinal in charge of the vote the doubts, the extreme complexity that the procedure implies and the enormous responsibility that accompanies the mission that has been entrusted to him. He assumes it after having experienced his own crisis of faith and with the great difficulty of knowing that the ease of transmitting the teachings of the Bible is not the quality that he will have to worry most about finding in the candidates. The aspirants are full of secrets that could shake the foundations of the Church, including sexual scandals.
“I don’t want to be presumptuous and think that I can dictate how society should be and how it should be perceived,” Edward Berger acknowledged at the press conference organized as part of the festival, “what is interesting is that when the doors open close and personalities are revealed, you see how power ends up exercising a kind of charm on people. “It is very difficult to resist. “Everyone is susceptible to falling into the trap of these power games,” he said. Despite the fact that today “extremists are tearing their clothes with fighting and struggle,” the filmmaker was “positive” about the evolution of his main character: “He may not be the most progressive cardinal, but he realizes that the future will be different.”
Lifting light bulbs at the Vatican
Berger’s feature film is based on Robert Harris’ novel of the same name and, although it uses the Church to talk about all the power struggles, the focus is directly on it. “If it were the Vatican, they wouldn’t react. It would be above that, it’s a film and the Vatican is something else. I’m not counting on anything,” he explained about the possible concern about the reactions his work could provoke in the institution, “all the cardinals I know have said they’re going to see it, but that’s it. They’ll discuss it behind closed doors, I don’t expect a reaction from the public.”
If I were the Vatican, I would do nothing. The cardinals I know have said they are going to a “Conclave”, but that’s it. They will debate it behind closed doors, I don’t expect any reaction from the public.
Edouard Berger
— Director
If the reaction occurred, he defended that “the truth is that this film is not about religion, but about power games behind closed doors. Beyond what you can see in the newspapers, it is something that could happen at a political level or in a company.” Berger opted for the thriller genre to tell this story, taking as a reference those of the director Alan J. Pakula, author of films such as All the President’s Men (1976) and Sophie’s decision (1982).
“I marvel at his precision. The traditional way of shooting is to give and take, but he doesn’t do that. I wanted to be very precise in the editing and only cut when the dynamics of the scenes changed. When another person had to say an important line, as long as it allowed the story to continue,” he described about working in the editing room.
Berger began investigating the ins and outs of the Vatican after a purely military film. “A film has to come from you. If you’ve already explored something within yourself, you end up getting tired of it. It’s like spending four days talking about the same thing. The same thing happens with films,” he said, “you end up wanting to do the opposite, find a new subject to talk about.”
Even though he argued that All is quiet on the front And Conclave They are very different, he detected that both have “an internal battle”: “Faith, doubt, that internal struggle that we all have.” “That’s what happens to Ralph Fiennes’ character, he ends up freeing himself. It opens a window to fresh air and to what the future holds. “It’s a kind of liberation journey that goes beyond death and destruction,” he concluded.
The director was pleased to be able to present his film at the San Sebastian Festival – it will be released in theaters on October 31 – and reflected on the viewing of films. “We have a responsibility to make films that are interesting and profitable enough for people to say that they have never seen anything like it. That is what will attract people to the theaters, that they are different, that they are an event.
