From a supporter of ENGAGE, a review of the recently released movie about the process of electing a new pope.
"With ENGAGE having organised a private screening of the Bonhoeffer film at the Capri Cinema, last Wednesday 19 March, which included a panel discussion afterwards, the power of narrating a story through film is relevant right now. The spoken word with powerful visuals and an impactful theme and content are a perfect combination. To underscore the power of the screen, a friend of ENGAGE, Bill, has recently seen CONCLAVE and has kindly written a review. See also Resources section of the website.
Review of the film CONCLAVE
With Pope Francis having been very ill but recovering from a life-threatening pneumonia, this recent film (of an earlier novel of the same name by Robert Harris, published in 2016 not long after the conclave that saw Francis elected after a series of ballots in a wide open field), with a wonderful screenplay by Peter Straughan, seems remarkably timely, bringing religious and spiritual matters into immediate focus.
The film starts at the deathbed of an (unnamed) pope, where the current Dean of the Curia, the body of all the Cardinals, takes up his responsibilities to organise the conclave to elect his successor in the centuries old process. Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (in a stunning performance by Ralph Fiennes, who is in camera for almost all of the movie) sets the wheels in motion for the election with a challenging homily to his brother-Cardinals:
"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."
There are naturally such human frailties in the Curia and in the various members considered "papabili" (potential Popes) by their fellow-members as they all sit in seclusion in the Sistine Chapel after the "Extra omnes - everybody out!" instruction from the president, filling out their sequential ballot forms as the days progress, in the time-honoured manner. There is a lot of politics with serial revelations of the past histories of a good number of the candidates, or presentations of their various views that go to weaken their candidacies. One of the few women in the cast, Sister Agnes (played with excellent restraint by Isabella Rossellini), responsible for the Casa Santa Marta, the large modern house where the cardinals live during the conclave, brings a vital piece of information to light, which brings down the aspirations of one of the papabili.
The strong colours of the purples, scarlets, blacks and whites of the formal attire provide a stunning background to the action, with the gorgeous cinematography of Stéphane Fontaine, while it also becomes clear that the church is living in a turbulent violent world: who can best lead the Catholics at this critical moment, and who will best reflect the servant-King? The music for the film, scored by the German composer Volker Bertelmann, with ingenious use of non-standard instruments and subtle cross-rhythms, brilliantly highlights the underlying tensions within the conclave. Edward Berger's direction keeps the suspense going right to the thought-provoking end, as the applause for the newly-elected Pope echoes around the frescoed arches of the old chapel and into the world outside.
I was also taken back to the words of the apostle Peter:
"To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s su:erings, who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing
dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
1 Peter 5 1-4
I encourage readers to go and see the film, Conclave. It reminded me very much of the 1968 film "The Shoes of the Fisherman", the screenplay of the prescient novel by the late Australian Morris West (1916-1999) depicting an earlier papal election, also well worth reading/watching.
Bill
a friend of Engage Work Faith
Image : Photo by Sirisvisual on Unsplash
