Judgment, they say, will begin in the house of the Lord. This statement is intriguing because why would judgment begin in God's house or the Church, if it's supposed to be a holy place? I have worked in God's temple, and trust me, my faith was tested, so I could really relate to every scene in this movie. I could relate to the doubt in faith of the Lawrence Character and the fears of the Pope before his demise.
Now, let me quickly add that this is not a religious witch hunt, and I'm not condemning any religion in any way. So, since that's out of the way, let's talk about Conclave.
I'm not going to discuss this movie in any particular order, because, guys, this is a semi spoiler! I came across this movie for the first time in a Facebook review, which read, "If your faith is not strong, stay away from this movie." Immediately, I was hooked because I was interested in knowing what it was about that could threaten one's faith. I mean, it's just a movie right?
The pope had just died and apparently, a new pope needs to be elected by the cardinals through a ceremony called Conclave. In preparation for the Conclave, Archbishop Vincent Benitez of Kabul, whom the pope secretly named cardinal in pectore the previous year, arrived. They all had their doubts about the authenticity of his claim, but since his documentations seemed legit, he was honored amongst other archbishops.
Looking into the Pope's death, he reportedly died of a heart attack. Surrounding his death were numerous conspiracy and rumours concerning his health. While his subordinates felt he over laboured himself due to his age, I saw a man like every Predecessor who was troubled as to whom his successor would be. As the movie ran, we saw that the Pope while alive, was heavily interested in the life of the Archbishops vying for the position of Papacy. While there were other candidates, the four leading candidates were; Aldo Bellini of the United States, a Liberal; Joshua Adeyemi of Nigeria, a social conservative; Joseph Tremblay of Canada, a moderate; and Goffredo Tedesco of Italy, a staunch traditionalist.
Again, during the battle of Papacy, Janusz Woźniak, the prefect of the papal household, approached Lawrence one evening in a drunken state. Although he seemed sober, the influence of alcohol was obvious causing Lawrence to have doubts over his claim that the Pope demanded Tremblay's resignation the night of his death. Although Lawrence approached Tremblay afterwards with the allegations, he denied with several tactics to throw Lawrence off his scent.
Bellini at his end, expressed his ambitions of preventing Tedesco from winning the papacy to his supporters.
Adeyemi who seemed to have a good chance of clinching the position, soon had a despicable scandal blown to his face. An illicit act in the past which came hunting and snatched away every opportunity he had to becoming Pope.
Tedesco however, carried on a life long grieviance against the late Pope over his accomodating nature towards other religion. A politician at heart who sees religion as war and the church as an instrument to winning that war against other religions.
Lawrence a man whose loyalty lies with late Pope yet whose faith is wavering as he tilted towards doubts of everything that he ever trusted.
While Lawrence's faith as the Dean of the Cardinal was already threatened, he wished to not be path of the church politics. Quite unfortunately, the late Pope denied his resignation as the Cardinal Dean. Having seen the heart of his subordinates, the late Pope had faith in Lawrence that he is the right man to carry on a transparent election to the office of the Pope after his demise.
Working with Sister Agnes, the nun overseeing the cardinals' accommodations, Lawrence soon discovered a Pandora box and once opened there was no going back from there. Apparently even God's holy men lie, slander and blackmail. This might be a movie but it reflects a lot on our society today. It's a big lesson that no one is holier than thou and faith is an individualistic phenomenon.
Towards the last days of the Conclave, after all has been exposed to the Cardinal, reconciliations were made and alliances were formed. True intents were known and we were exposed to the Benitez character who gave us hope that all is not lost with humanity and religion. His stance on peace, love and righteousness eventually earned him a position he was not even competing for as the cardinal overwhelmingly elects him Pope. And when asked to choose a name that he will be called, he chose the papal name of "Innocent".
Thus, the plot twist began. While I expected a perfect Benitez to become Pope, I soon realised that even him is not without his own flaws.
This movie is a perfect mirror of who we are as humans. It pointed a torch light on our imperfections plus struggles. Moreso, it shows that no matter how holy the other person might want to appear or seem, no matter how they want to play God, they are still bounded by the shortcomings of what makes us humans.
Did a lot of sober reflection watching this so I'll rate it 9/10.
All Images are screenshots gotten from the movie
