Perhaps it's time to watch 'Conclave'

You've probably seen the news: Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 on the morning of April 21 local time.

I know practically nothing about religion. What I mean is, I was born and raised in a family and society without religious beliefs, and before I became an adult, my understanding of religion came only from books about Western history, history about world religions, and the Bible. My knowledge of religion is very superficial. Even now, I still don't really understand what the Pope's death means for the world in 2025.

So, as I usually do, I found some relevant movies, hoping to learn about things I've never experienced through film. As it happens, there's a movie I've been meaning to watch: Conclave. The story is precisely about what happens after a Pope's death, particularly how the cardinals elect a new Pope. It sounds like a religious version of an election story.

I started watching the film with curiosity about the papal election process. And guess what? The movie turned out to be surprisingly good!

The film's visual effects showcase a fresh, painterly quality. While describing a movie set in Vatican City as painterly might sound cliché—after all, Western painting has long served religion—the abundance of symmetrical shots, aesthetic compositions, and highly saturated colors shows how the director tried to make this story about a group of men in meetings less boring.

Even with the voting scenes that repeatedly appear, the film uses different character seating arrangements and camera angles to create distinct visual effects. Through the unity of lighting, set design, and character costumes, a pure and harmonious color palette is maintained, and there is almost no distracting visual clutter present.

But what's even more ingenious is the story. While male characters occupy nearly all the main and major roles, the film skillfully weaves women into this male-dominated narrative through cinematography, editing, and character development.

For instance, within the first 10 minutes of Conclave, the scenes of women (nuns) and men (cardinals) entering are interwoven.

In the film, women aren't only present, but also working. For example, during the wait for the conclave to begin, the scene contrasts praying nuns with cardinals playing on their phones.

To prepare for the conclave, the nuns make attendees' beds, organize their luggage, and distribute the necessary materials.Meanwhile, the cardinals gather together to socialize, smoke, and leave cigarette butts scattered on the ground.

Additionally, the nuns prepare all the meals for the conclave, while the cardinals continue their series of conversations, probing one another's voting intentions.

Even without any dialogue or conversation, this cross-cutting between men's discussions and women's labor within the first 10 minutes of the film conveys an important message to viewers: while the conclave appears to be an entirely male affair, there are also many women participating behind the scenes through various forms of labor and work.

After the conclave officially begins, scenes of women's labor continue to be interwoven throughout different segments. Even during male-dominated conversations, through foreground and background composition, the film shows the presence of nuns, hinting at their importance to the story's development.

These aren't just efforts to recreate a realistic scene, but also to make the visuals resonate with the plot that follows. (Note: major spoilers ahead)

The main storyline follows Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the protagonist, who organizes the conclave after the Pope's death and works with other cardinals to elect a new Pope. The story's appeal comes from two aspects: the ultimate winner of the vote and Lawrence's internal transformation.

The first storyline is the obvious one. During the first three days of voting, the two frontrunners successively fail, revealing the church's hypocritical and worldly side.

The first frontrunner, Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), who holds a moderate-conservative position overall, is initially the most promising candidate. However, at a crucial moment on the second day of the conclave, it is revealed that he had an affair with a 19-year-old girl 30 years ago and fathered an illegitimate child, causing him to lose his eligibility to continue in the election.

After Adeyemi's papal candidacy becomes hopeless, Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) emerges as the second frontrunner. He's a typical opportunist who would do anything to win the election, including bringing down his opponents. He's the one who orchestrated the exposure of Adeyemi's scandal. Additionally, while the previous Pope was still alive, he'd already begun bribing other cardinals in preparation for the conclave. However, with the help of the nuns, his bribery is ultimately exposed, leading to his defeat on the second day of voting.

After Adeyemi and Tremblay successively lose influence, the only remaining candidates who appear qualified to win are Lawrence and Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto). Tedesco belongs to the extreme conservative faction and has fascist tendencies. He views modern religious reforms as a form of surrender and competition between religions as a form of warfare. Because of this, Lawrence's friend, Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), sees opposing the conservatism that Tedesco represents as his greatest mission, and is willing to rally his colleagues to support Lawrence in winning the election.

As the first three days of voting prove fruitless, Lawrence undergoes a massive transformation in his mindset.

At first, he shows weariness and resistance toward his current work and status. As Dean of the College of Cardinals, he was tasked by the deceased Pope to manage the College before the latter's death, which implies he isn't suitable to become Pope. While he resists this notion, he's unwilling to face the truth behind this resistance: his own desire for the pinnacle of power.

To fight against this truth, he considers resigning, but isn't allowed to do so, so he can only continue his current work of organizing the conclave to elect the next Pope while in a state of avoidance. In the early rounds, he votes for Bellini every time. He also conducts various investigations to expose the true nature of Adeyemi and Tremblay, maintaining the fairness of the conclave.

However, these actions aren't necessarily entirely driven by his desire to maintain the sanctity of the conclave; they're also tinged with his desire for power and pursuit of personal interests. This point is exposed by Bellini after the first day's voting ends. Tremblay also questions the seemingly impartial Lawrence: "I wonder if you really are so reluctant to have the chalice passed to you?" Lawrence becomes emotional when faced with these accusations, and his behavior becomes more extreme. For instance, he collects evidence of Tremblay's election bribery through inappropriate means. If it weren't for the help of the nuns, he might've been pulled out of the election.

After taking down Tremblay, Lawrence becomes a frontrunner for Pope and openly accepts his inner desire for power, even deciding he'd use the name John if he became Pope. Subsequently, he writes his own name on the ballot card for the first time. However, just as he's dropping his ballot into the box, the church is struck. Light shines through the windows onto the fresco—Michelangelo's The Last Judgment.

Like a divine message, God seems to intervene this way to stop Lawrence's pursuit of power. At a new round of voting, it's a declaration from Vincent Beneitez (Carlos Diehz) from Baghdad that makes him the ultimate winner.

At the end of the film, the biggest secret about Beneitez's identity is revealed: he has a uterus and ovaries inside his body—he's intersex. And the previous Pope had clearly known about this secret.

What should Lawrence do next? He ultimately chooses to accept it all. He helps the trapped turtle return outdoors and opens the window that'd been tightly shut. Watching the nuns come and go outside, Lawrence's mind truly relaxes for the first time.

This ending is unexpected, but it isn't without foreshadowing. Beneitez's several appearances all seem to guide viewers to look up from the power game. Apart from being intersex, he's also an important figure who witnesses and acknowledges women's participation throughout the story. For instance, when first invited to lead everyone in prayer before their meal, he shows more compassion and sincerity than all the other cardinals who're fully focused on the conclave. Besides thanking God, he also blesses all those who cannot share the food with them and asks the Lord to help them, as they eat and drink, to remember the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the lonely, and the sisters who prepared food for them.

At this moment, the nuns who've been hustling are truly seen by the cardinals. Compared to other cardinals, Beneitez had actually walked through war-torn places and is more practical than others. This attitude enables him to stand up and point out everyone's hypocrisy and selfishness when they're discussing how Catholicism would be replaced by Islam and other religions. He leaves behind a resounding declaration: "The Church is not tradition, the Church is not the past, the Church is what we do next."

Both Beneitez and Lawrence share the same view that the elimination of the two previous frontrunners is related to the presence and help of the nuns. At this point, viewers become more clearly aware that women have always been present and participating in this seemingly male-dominated power game.

Of course, I know something like this wouldn't happen in real life. But in this fictional world of Conclave, women ultimately participate in and change history in various ways. I believe all of this is an intentional setup. From this perspective, I deeply appreciate the director and screenwriter's conception. Even though women didn't have a voice in the past, it doesn't mean they had no influence or impact on historical developments. We women have always been present, participating in various aspects of history through our labor, our voices, and our ways of supporting others. This should not be ignored, let alone forgotten.

So, in the real world, are we truly ready to accept an intersex Pope? I'm not sure. But at least in the film, Lawrence accepts it, and as a viewer, I accept it all too.