Konklave

In the organizer's words:

Power, faith and a dangerous secret

USA, GBR 2024 | FSK 6 | 121 min.

Director: Edward Berger

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow

The Pope is dead and cardinals from all corners of the world rush to Rome for the conclave to elect a new leader for the Catholic Church. Cardinal Lawrence has his hands full managing the proceedings. After all, this is not just about a procedure that has been in place for centuries, but also about hard-nosed politics. The cardinals haggle over power and money while thousands of supporters wait in St. Peter's Square for white smoke. Behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel, meanwhile, worlds collide - for example Cardinal Bellini, who is considered liberal, from the camp of the late Pope and arch-conservative Cardinal Tedesco. Adeyemi from Nigeria, Trembley from Quebec and Benitez from Kabul are also vying for the top position. Meanwhile, terrorists with car bombs terrify the world outside the chapel...

"Conclave" surprises with its uninhibited exaggeration and the blending of the sacred with the profane, with Berger oscillating between a booming score and deliberate kitsch.