Conclave (2024)
A review by Shlomoh Sherman
January 20, 2025

Read about Conclave On the Internet Movie Data Base


Conclave (2024)
Plot Synopsis: When Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading one of the world's most secretive and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of the Catholic Church.
Director: Edward Berger
Writers: Peter Straughan, Robert Harris
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini
Release date: October 25, 2024 (United States) Countries of origin: United Kingdom, United States
Languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Latin
Filming locations: Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Production companies: Indian Paintbrush, Access Entertainment, Film Nation Entertainment
Box office:
Budget $20,000,000 (estimated) Gross US & Canada: $31,730,000 Opening weekend US & Canada: $6,601,995Oct 27, 2024 Gross worldwide: $76,454,684 Technical specs:
Runtime: 2 hours
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Awards: Nominated for 12 BAFTA Awards, 53 wins & 246 nominations total
Motion Picture Rating (MPA)
Rated PG for thematic material and smoking.
Parents Guide: See below


Storyline:
It's been quite a while since I have written a movie review but this film so captivated me that I want to share some of my thoughts about it.

It is no secret that religious organizations sometimes find themselves embroiled in controversy, and more, scandal. And the Vatican is certainly no exception.

The film opens with the aanouncement that the Pope has died. A British cleric, Cardinal Lawrence, is given the task of running the Conclave, the process by which a new pope will be elected. During the process, Lawrence discovers facts about incidents that happened during the late pope's tenure.

One of the incidents that comes to light concerns Cardinal Adeyemi who has taken a large lead in the second ballot.Adayemi had an affair with Sister Shanumi, a Nigerian nun. Shanumi tells Lawrence and the other cardinals about her illicit relationship with Adeyemi, during which she became pregnant with his child whom she gave up for adoption.

An Archbishop, Vincent Benitez of Kabul, arrives. It turns out that he was secretly named cardinal one year earlier by the deceased pope. Some of the cardinals are surprised that the Church has a cleric in Afghanistan, wondering exactly howw many Catholics are living there, considering it would be a dangerous place for Christians. Lawrence's assistant, Raymond O'Malley, learns the late Pope paid for Benitez's plane ticket to Switzerland for a medical appointment that was canceled. Later in the film, Benitez confides to Lawrence that the procedure he was to have in Switzerland wss the removal of a uterus and ovaries. But Benitez ultimately came to the conclusion that since God had created him as an intersexual, that must be what God wants him to be.

Lawrence learns that there are documents in the late pope's quarters that contain incriminating evidence about several cardinals.He breaks into the Pope's quarters and considers burning thec documents.

During the sixth ballot, an Islamic terrorist bomber attacks Rome, killing many and damaging the Sistine Chapel. One cardinal, Tedesco, blames Islamists and calls for a religious war, while Benitez says violence should not be met with violence.

The College overwhelmingly elects Benitez on the seventh ballot, and he chooses the Papal name of Innocent

As usual, I include in my movie reviews, at excerpt from at least one reviewer on IMDB.
Although there have been many positive reviews, I include one by an anonymous reviewer whose take on the film is not so positive.

RIDICULOUS ENDING MARS AN OTHERWISE PERFECT FILM
I just got back from the theater after seeing "Conclave," a film I was extremely excited for and liked a lot. For most of the movie I was so captivated by the gorgeous cinematography, fantastic performances, great score, and quality costume and production design, that I was convinced this must be a 10/10 movie. But then, unfortunately, the ending arrived.

I believe that the ending to a film is the most important part. What will you leave the audience with? What is your final statement to them? Well, in this movie, it's so contrived, confusing, and absurd that any final statement becomes muddled, and I left the theater with a bad taste in my mouth. The ending is so unrealistic that it threatens to destroy every frame of what came before. It is done purely to make a statement about the Church and to shock the audience. Now, this doesn't ruin the movie as a whole (not to me, anyway), but it does unfortunately mar an otherwise superb film.

KUDOS TO Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence. His filmography is so well known to movie goers, includes Schindler's List, The Menu, The English Patient, Red Dragon, and several Harry Potter movies.
KUDOS TO Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Bellini. He is best seen in The Lovely Bones, The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games, The King's Man.
KUDOS TO John Lithgow as Cardinal Tremblay. His performances include roles in Interstellar, Footloose, Pet Sematary, and his chilling performance as the murderer, Arthur Mitchell in the Dexter series.
KUDOS TO Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes. Rossellini is the daughter of Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman. Her films include Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her, Joy


Did you know
Trivia:
Many of the actions Cardinal Lawrence and the rest of the cardinals take during the film's conclave process are accurate to the Catholic faith and centuries of tradition.

Goofs:
It is stated that Adeyemi would be the first African Pope. The Roman Catholic Church has had three African Popes: Victor The First (189-199 CE), Miltiades (also known as Melchiades, 311-314 CE), and Gelasius The First (492-496 CE). It is however likely that he means ethnically African pope, as those three popes while born in Africa were all of European ethnic descent.

Quotes:
Lawrence: Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. And let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who carries on.

Soundtracks:
 All tracks are written by Volker Bertelmann.
 Conclave (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) track listing
1. "Overture of Conclave" 1:27
2. "Tears" 1:46
3. "Rumours" 1:59
4. "Seal the Room" 2:02
5. "Arrival" 2:01
6. "Soon Enough" 1:36
7. "Prayer" 0:44
8. "The Abyss Calls Out" 0:59
9. "First Day" 0:44
10. "Walk of Doubt" 1:10
11. "Route of Fear" 1:07
12. "First Election" 1:11
13. "Not What We Had Hoped" 1:43
14. "Evening Prayer" 0:34
15. "Second Day" 1:22
16. "Still No Result" 2:22
17. "I Don't Want Your Vote" 1:16
18. "Withdraw Your Name"
19. "You Should Be Careful" 4:10
20. "Discovery" 0:58
21. "I Would Choose John" 0:47
22. "Explosion" 1:36
23. "Walk Through Rain" 1:26
24. "Innocent" 1:54
25. "What Is Troubling You?" 0:57
26. "It Is Official" 0:40
27. "Postlude of Conclave

Conclave (Original Motion Picture  Soundtrack)
Film score by Volker Bertelmann
Released 25 October 2024
Length 44:07
Label Back Lot Music
Producer Volker Bertelmann
Conclave (Original Motion  Picture  Soundtrack)  (2024)


PARENTS GUIDE FOR CONCLAVE (2024)
Content rating:
Motion Picture Rating (MPA)
Rated PG for thematic material and smoking.

Certification:
Australia PG Austria 8 Brazil 12 Canada PGAlbertaPGBritish ColumbiaPGOntarioGQuebec Denmark 11 Finland K-7 France Tous publics Germany 6 Hong Kong IIA Hungary 12 Ireland 12A Italy T Japan G Lithuania N-13 Mexico B Netherlands AL New Zealand M Norway 9cinema rating Philippines PG Portugal M/12 Russia 12+ Singapore M18 South Africa 13 Spain 7 Sweden 7 Switzerland 10 United Kingdom 12A United States PGcertificate #54638 Ukraine 16

SEX & NUDITY:
None.

Violence & Gore:
Mild

Profanity:
None

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking:
Mild

Frightening & Intense Scenes:
Mild

Sex & Nudity:
None
Brief discussions of child sexual abuse, sexual violence, and pedophilia.

Violence & Gore:
Mild
A brief explicit reference to a man's suicide.
There are frequent shots of a dead man in his bed, under a shroud, and being transported.

Profanity:
None

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking:
Mild
Tobacco use.

Frightening & Intense Scenes:
Mild


Conclave (2024)
Top cast:

Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, a British liberal and the Dean of the College of Cardinals
Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Aldo Bellini, an American liberal.
John Lithgow as Cardinal Joseph Tremblay, a Canadian moderate
Sergio Castellitto as Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco, an Italian traditionalist
Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes, the cardinals' head caterer and housekeeper
Lucian Msamati as Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi, a popular Nigerian candidate with conservative social views.
Carlos Diehz as Cardinal Vincent Benitez, a little-known Mexican archbishop working in Afghanistan.
Brían F. O'Byrne as Monsignor Raymond O'Malley, Lawrence's assistant and opposition researcher
Jacek Koman as Archbishop Janusz Wo?niak, the Prefect of the Papal Household and the late pope's confidant
Merab Ninidze as Cardinal Sabbadin
Thomas Loibl as Archbishop Mandorff
Loris Loddi as Cardinal Villanueva
Balkissa Maiga as Sister Shanumi


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