After winning the Oscar for the best adapted script, ‘conclave’ has once again starred in the conversation four months after its official premiere in cinemas in Spain. The death of Pope Francis It seems to have generated curiosity about the process that begins just after to choose the successor of the Supreme Pontiff and there have been many who have encouraged to watch the movie these days.
Its combination of political intrigue, ecclesiastical secrets and especially Its provocative and unexpected end continues to fascinate viewersbut it has also generated many questions. Because although it does remain with the feet on the ground to some extent, ‘conclave’ too He moves away from realism sometimes and Make a mistake that can lead to think that its outcome is not entirely plausible.
The film follows cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), dean of the Cardinals College. when the Pope dies, he is responsible for organizing the choice of the successor, having to navigate in the midst of internal tensions and internal intrigues and wars that threaten to make harmony jump into the air within the institution.
Precision, much rigor and also creative freedom
Everything starts like a slow and content drama, but the feature film culminates with an unpredictable turn that has left more than one breathless. In fact, although ‘conclave’ is quite aligned with rigor and bets on him taking care of every detail, the truth is that his outcome is disconcerting and There are elements that do not match what would actually have happened.
The film director Edward Berger has several times how the process of writing the end and filming itself, and has said that he advised experts for ecclesiastical protocol, even resorting to a consultant in the filming set that supervised each scene.
However, some licenses are also taken to give history a more stylized and dramatic touch that goes beyond the merely documentary and historical precision.
A turn that challenges logic
What has truly impacted the viewer has to do with the end of the film –It will be better not to keep reading if the movie has not yet been seen because there are spoilers– Concretely, The stir is generated by Cardinal Vincent Benítez (Carlos Diehz), which is presented as a cardinal In the chest -What was secretly appointed by the Pope.
When it is revealed that it is chosen Pope and also that it is An intersex persona new axis is created that comforts the film and that invites us to think about the foundations and the rigid structure of the Catholic Church. Although something that is not only shocking is also revealed, but it is unrealistic with respect to real operation of the institution.
Actually, according to the doctrine and the real practice of the Vatican, un cardenal In the chest cannot vote in the conclave. However, even if it is an incoherence, it is a risk that Berger is willing to run and that achieves the effect effect he is looking for.
About this thought David Gibsondirector of the Center for Religion and Culture of the University of Fordham, in an interview with the magazine GQ. “Yes, an intersexual person could be chosen Pope, as has happened with homosexual men. But the film does not clarify what implications that would have. Robert Harris [el autor de la novela en la que se basa] It seems to mean something about gender and church, but the message seems more tangled than revealing ”.
Cinema that bothers when it is most needed
One of the most positive aspects that ‘conclave’ has is its way of Use fiction to generate a conversation about the most current reality. It touches issues that continue to generate a deep debate inside and outside the Church and talk about gender identity, inclusion and institutional secrets. This makes it a mirror of the contrast that is in itself the Catholic Church between the tradition and the change that occurs around it.
It is a work that Navigate between almost documentary precision and the daring of fictionand although its outcome is not theologically possible, it is very effective at the cinematographic level. It generates questions, shakes consciences and, most importantly, it opens the door to conversations that the oldest institution in the world has avoided for centuries.
In a world in which it is so complicated to risk at the creative level, ‘conclave’ is a heresy that removes us and activates the critical sense.
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