In theaters Wednesday, this political thriller dives under the robes of the cardinals for a game of betrayals and lies surrounding the election of a new pope. He is one of the favorites for the 2025 Oscars.
House of Cards in the Vatican: Conclavein theaters Wednesday, dives under the robes of the cardinals for a game of betrayals and lies surrounding the election of a new pope, with an impeccable casting led by Ralph Fiennes.
Fiennes plays Cardinal Lawrence, responsible for organizing the conclave, this assembly of cardinals which elects the sovereign pontiff after the death of the pope. A high-risk mission, in a small world of clergy where everyone knows everyone and where grudges are stubborn. And the unspeakable secrets.
Especially since internal struggles are added to political rivalries, between the proponents of a church open to the world and the guardians of the temple. Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow play two of the men vying for the papal throne, alongside a nun, played by Isabella Rosselini, a rare woman in this ultra-patriarchal universe.
A political thriller
“No sane man would want the papacy,” says at one point Cardinal Bellini (Tucci), a liberal who nevertheless wants the job in the hope of thwarting the conservatives who, he believes, would cause regression the Church on a social level. From intrigue to twist, the tension rises throughout this closed session, until a totally unexpected final twist.
“I wanted to make a political thriller in the tradition of films from the 1970s, like The President’s Menbut in a context that I had never seen before”, explained to AFP the German director Edward Berger, who created a surprise last year at the Oscars by winning four statuettes with his pacifist film In the West , nothing new – released directly on Netflix in France.
He could be a serious contender again this year with this film, particularly in the best actor category in which Ralph Fiennes, 61, was nominated twice (Schindler’s List et The English Patient) but never won.
“The Cardinals will appreciate it”
Conclave is adapted from a novel by the British Robert Harris, whose works have already been brought to the screen by Roman Polanski (The Ghost Writer or I accuse). Shot in very realistic settings, including a reproduction of the Sistine Chapel where the vote took place, in the Cinecitta studios, the film also resonates with contemporary issues facing the Church.
“It seemed essential to me that everything that happens in our society be integrated, the conflicts between left and right, reform and conservatism…” continues the director.
“Rome has been a great source of inspiration. When you live in Rome, you have your coffee in the morning and you see a nun drinking coffee in the street, two cardinals smoking at a door, then an archbishop walking with his briefcase to go to work, and you realize that they are just people like you and me (…) with their ambitions, their regrets, their mistakes, their sins,” he continues.
“We spoke to a lot of the cardinals before filming and they gave us insight into the bigger realities of their daily lives. They didn’t talk about the conclave, of course, because those doors are closed and they’re not not allowed to talk about it, it’s a secret election.” For the rest, we had to invent.
A blasphemous film?
For several years, cinema has become one of the battlegrounds of conservative Catholics, who particularly try to promote their “faith based movie” films. Conclavetotally heterodox, will he arouse the ire of these circles?
“Some people will think that it is a blasphemous film, which should not have been made,” admits the filmmaker. “But I believe that most Catholics, and even most cardinals, will appreciate the film because they will see that it is quite close to reality,” he adds. “Films are intended to spark discussions. (…) You can’t please everyone.”
