Based on a bestselling novel by Robert Harris, the Oscar-winning film imagines what goes on behind the scenes of the secret trial – including intrigue, slander and leaks.

As rival factions of cardinals fight to elect the next pope, U.S. Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) rejects the suggestion of using stolen documents to vilify a rival. His decision is not solely based on moral reasons. “I would be the Richard Nixon of popes,” he says in a scene that captures the clever plot, wit and colorful characters in Conclave. The film takes us behind the scenes of the mysterious, ritualized process that takes place in the Vatican after the death of a pope, but feels like a tense, contemporary political thriller. Edward Berger, whose There's nothing new on the Western Front (2022) won the Oscar for best international film, stages real conclaves with great precision and fidelity and captures an essential conflict: This ancient ritual now ends up in the media-saturated 21st century.

This connection between ancient and modern actually inspired Robert Harris' best-selling 2016 novel of the same name, which is the basis for the film. Harris tells the BBC that the idea came to him in 2013 when, in the middle of completing his trilogy of Cicero novels, set in ancient Rome, he saw the news of Pope Francis' election. Harris says: “Just before the (new) pope reveals himself on the balcony, the windows on either side fill with the faces of the cardinals who have come to watch him. I looked at their faces, all older men, cunning, some very kind and holy, others looked quite cynical. And I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm looking at the Roman Senate.'” He noted that “an all-male ruling Senate had lived on, and these older men.” “Running everything was a direct link to the Roman Republic. When he started researching conclaves, he said: “I just found it absolutely fascinating, politics in its raw state.”

In his Oscar-winning performance, Ralph Fiennes takes center stage and brings a sincere spiritual flavor to the film as the fair-minded English Cardinal Lawrence, who is tasked with leading the conclave even as his faith in his own calling falters . The story begins with the death of the Pope and the filmmakers conducted extensive research to convey the authentic details of a conclave. The cardinals come from all over the world and live in simple rooms in a dormitory-like building, the Casa Santa Marta. Once the conclave begins, they are confiscated, hand over their phones and other devices, have no access to the internet or news from the outside world, and are sworn to secrecy. They vote elaborately in the Sistine Chapel by writing the name of a prospective pope on a piece of paper, which is then placed on a silver plate and deposited in an urn. Voting continues day after day until a pope is elected. All true except that the Casa Santa Marta and Sistine Chapel in the film were built at Cinecitta Studios in Rome.

All the pomp, the precise details and the bright red cardinal hats don't get in the way of the equally realistic political power struggles. Berger tells the BBC that the cardinals' understandably human ambitions are similar to those of any other institution. “The CEO is gone and people are going to fight, they're going to pull out their knives and take that job, in this case in Washington DC or in the church,” he says. “We see this as an ancient spiritual ritual and these men as some kind of saints. We put them on this pedestal, and if you look closely, they will have cell phones, they will smoke, they have the same problems and vices and secrets as all of us. And it was important to me to bring them into the modern era.

Harris says he wanted to “reflect the real divisions within the church that exist just as they do within secular politics.” As in today's politics, the fictional rivals fall into strongly liberal and conservative camps. Bellini, one of the leading candidates, is a liberal standard-bearer who is open to issues such as the role of women in the church. The other leading candidate is Italian Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), a conservative who longs to return to a Latin mass. Other contenders include the enigmatic Canadian Tremblay (John Lithgow) and Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), who hopes to become the first African pope, and the little-known Benitez (Carlos Diehz), who has been secretly appointed Cardinal of Kabul (a post which actually doesn't exist). Berger builds suspense as intrigue, leaks and slander continue, with a taut style reminiscent of political thrillers like “All the President's Men.”

Outside the silence of the Sistine Chapel, Bellini says he doesn't want the job, even as his supporters fight for him to block Tedesco. This plot twist isn't even a bit far-fetched. Dan Wakin, writing for the New York Times about the conclaves to elect Pope Benedict XVI. in 2005 and current Pope Francis in 2013, tells the BBC: “A cardinal who wants to become pope would do exactly the opposite of tooting his own horn.” This kind of revealed ambition is a deal-breaker.

In a book-length interview published in April Pope Francis He himself revealed that in 2005 he was unknowingly endorsed as a candidate to block the election of the conservative Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict. And even if the cardinals are sequestered, the media will cast a shadow. In the film, when a cardinal's past is revealed by a rival in the conclave, Lawrence tells him bluntly: “You will never be pope,” alluding to the well-known real life of the church Scandals On the subject of sexual abuse by priests, he says: “Nothing frightens our Curia more than the thought of further sexual scandals.”

In the 15th century Alexander VIa Borgia, is said to have bribed his way into office. In the 16th century, a conclave lasted 72 days, and if a leading candidate died, there were rumors that it was him poisoned. Back then, bankers in Rome placed bets on the winner, creating a direct line from history to the circus-like atmosphere of today's media world. In 2013 the BBC The report states: “St. Peter’s Square has become a kind of Colosseum. There are TV tents at every viewing point waiting for the games to begin.” The Guardian conducted a function to elect your own pope.

Today some maneuvers are taking place in public. Before voting began in 2013, American cardinals were forced to stop holding press conferences due to pressure from other cardinals, while Italian cardinals were known to continue leaking information press. But in the film, much of the vote flogging still takes place behind the scenes, before and after the official start of the conclave.

Wakin says that during this time, “the cardinals can often eat together and drop hints about who they think would be the best candidate,” a reality that is a central element of the film – although the fictional cardinals do much more than just that to make hints.

Although Berger agrees that “Conclave” is often driven by politics, he points out that there is “a deep second level that the film is really about,” namely Lawrence's inner turmoil. “He is having a crisis of faith. He says: 'As a cardinal I have difficulty with prayer.' That's like me saying, 'I have trouble trusting the images my camera captures.' It's an existential crisis.” Berger says the issue should be relevant to viewers in general. “It happens to be religion, but it might as well be inner confidence. That really spoke to me and the reason I wanted to do the film,” he says.

Another understated but crucial aspect of Conclave is Isabella Rossellini's role as Sister Agnes, who is in charge of the nuns brought in to cook, clean and generally look after the cardinals. They are supposed to remain quietly in the background, but as Agnes says in a plot-changing scene: “God gave us eyes and ears.” Berger says: “I always said to Isabella, when you're in the scene, we really have to see you and “See what you're thinking and be with you.” So she always had the close-up, she wasn't just a part of the scene.” He adds: “The patriarchal structure gets a breakthrough through this topic.”

All of these simmering elements, including the role of Agnes, lead to a shocking ending that shouldn't be revealed. Harris says: “I didn't just put the ending in as some sort of amusing twist. It's an integral part of what the novel and the film are about. He also received support from one of his background sources. “I was helped – he sadly died so I'm sure he wouldn't mind me saying this – the English Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.” After he After Murphy-O'Connor sent me a copy of the book, Harris says, “To my surprise, he wrote me a fan letter about it saying, 'This is exactly what a conclave is like.' Your central cardinal is exactly how we want cardinals to be. And as for the ending, I told myself it's just a novel.''