A Battle for the Soul of the Church

From 16-23 November, I was at the Cameraimage festival in Torun (Poland) as a member of the FIPRESCI Jury. Our jury decided to award the prize to the Austrian film The Devil’s Bath, but we also considered several other titles. Among them was Conclave by Edward Berger (director of All Quiet on the Western Front), the behind-the-scenes story of the election of a new pope after the death of his predecessor.

It is clearly not a documentary nor even a film “based on real events,” but a fictional story written by the British writer and journalist Robert Harris. This is not the only of his novels to have received interest in film; Roman Polanski, among others, has filmed two of them: The Ghost Writer and An Officer and a Spy.

In Conclave, the Pope has just died of a heart attack and his successor needs to be chosen urgently. The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Lawrence, is to be in charge of organising the election and overseeing the process. He embarks on this work without much enthusiasm: he is currently experiencing a crisis of faith—perhaps not in God, but certainly in the Catholic Church.

So, for a start, cardinals from all over the world are arriving at the Vatican with widely differing views, although they can be roughly divided into conservatives and liberals. The liberal wing is represented by the American Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) and his main opponent is the ultra-conservative Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto). There is also the Nigerian Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), who, if elected, would be the first dark-skinned pope in history. The lineup of favorites is rounded out by the highly ambitious Canadian Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), a technocrat whose only apparent religion is power. At the last moment, an unknown Mexican cardinal from Kabul, Benitez (Carlos Diehz), also emerges, secretly ordained by the Pope.

A high-stakes battle begins between these candidates. Ultimately, this is a battle for the soul of the Church. Who will win it? Progressives or proponents of a conservative course? In any case, it is fierce and ruthless. Berger’s previous film was a war movie, and here too, a war unfolds—albeit on a smaller scale and using different means. It is full of intrigue and manipulation, half-heartedly thrown slanders and spreading rumours. Lofty words are used to mask vile intentions, deceit prevails, and loyalty counts for nothing. Coalitions are assembled and diplomatic and non-diplomatic means are used to win supporters. Just as in normal, secular elections with professional politicians. Only that politicians do not pretend to be saints.

This was probably the main idea behind the film: to show the clergy as political players. And they are playing—as politicians usually do—dirty. These are not moral authorities, the film seems to say, just a group of very ambitious men fighting for power. This picture of the conclave participants is, of course, no revelation. We are probably under no illusion that church leaders seeking the highest position in the hierarchy will abide by the rules they preach on a daily basis. And since hypocrisy is a natural source of comedy, the film is quite amusing.

It is not, however, a comedy, and there is some difficulty with the genre classification of Conclave in general. A political drama? Yes, to a certain extent. Probably not a thriller, though its dark atmosphere, the high-stakes game and the degree of mutual hostility between the competitors make it possible to think of this genre as well. Will the symbolic knives in the back, which are all too often stabbed here, not eventually turn into a real knife? But in terms of structure, Conclave is most reminiscent of… a sports film, with successive rounds of voting that fail to produce a result, changing rankings of the players, and the constant sympathies of us fans. Sorry, viewers.

The film has many merits. It is very well constructed and narrated. Its screenwriter, Peter Straughan, who, among other things, adapted John le Carre’s novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for the screen, skillfully navigates conspiratorial, claustrophobic atmospheres. The tension is also well-crafted: the confined, enclosed space where Conclave takes place, helps intensify it.

The cinematography is also very beautiful (and this was an element that was particularly important at this festival). The visuals are kept in a clean color palette, with masterful use of light and shadow, and many spectacular but not overly flashy shots. The set design and costumes are also stunning. Even the ancient rituals associated with voting carry their hidden poetry, which French cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine manages to bring out.

In short, it is a very well-made film, engaging and visually captivating, with many surprising and well-crafted twists and an imaginative, if somewhat controversial, punchline. It may not be particularly profound and there is not much new or interesting to say about the contemporary Catholic Church. Neither about its place in the world nor on the challenges it faces. But that was not its purpose, and it is difficult to fault a film for what it does not intend to include.

Pawel Mossakowski
Edited by Robert Horton
© FIPRESCI 2024