After the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday at the age of 88, the people of the world found a new interest in Edward Berger’s film in 2024 “Conclave” ,,,, “ which tells a fictitious version of the choice of the new head of the Catholic Church. “Conclave” is sumptuously turned and has an incredible casting, notably Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow, all performing at the top of their game, but with real real events in Rome leading us to a conclave of our own conclave, really?

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Well, it’s complicated. The film has endeavored to practice precision with regard to costumes, the location and the conclave ceremony, even if the process was wrapped in secrets for hundreds of years. Interviews with Catholic officials and academics have revealed that although certain elements of history are not realistic, the global “conclave” is an incredible overview of the mysterious world of the Vatican and the selection of a new pope.

“Conclave”, which won Best scenario adapted to the 2025 Academy Awards For his script for Peter Straughan, was based on the 2016 novel of the same name of the well -known historic fiction author Robert Harris. Harris began his career in non-fiction and journalism before turning to historical thrillers, making an effort to maintain a historical precision while saying to a twisted mystery. For “Conclave”, Harris worked directly with the late English cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, who participated in the 2005 and 2013 conclaves for the Benedict and Francis popes, which is a fairly big overview of the way it works.

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Straughan and the filmmakers also visited the Sistine Chapel, where the conclaves are held, to help them recreate the sacred room for the film’s sets and to give Straughan a sense of the room during writing. Straughan’s Oscars victory was well deservedWhile taking the convincing church thriller of Harris and adapted it for the screen without trying to change too much. Cardinal Lomeli of the book becomes Cardinal Lawrence, to welcome the cast of the very formidable Ralph Fiennes, but if not, it is a fairly direct adaptation. Not only that, but Straughan has a lot of experience by bringing stories historically influenced to life, having scenarios written for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The men who watch goats”.

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In “Conclave”, Cardinal Lawrence is responsible for directing the conclaveIn which the cardinals (the highest ranks of the highest officials of the clergy in addition to the Holy Father, the Pope) meet in isolation to choose a new leader. There are serious political divisions in the film, because some of the cardinals have very conservative ideas on the way the Church should be directed, while others wish to continue in the heritage of the late Pope and become more progressive over time. This seems particularly relevant given the humanist approach to Pope Francis, suggesting everyone if the conservative cardinals will try to bring things back to a less enlightened moment.

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While some detractors of the film said that it is secularizing the Church too much, printing American politics on a Catholic framework, the division reaction to the film among Catholics indicates a little more reality that people could not be comfortable. For example, the conservative bishop Robert Barron said to his disciples on social networks to avoid the film because of his “awake” messaging of “diversity, of inclusion” (almost sure, Jesus would have reflections on this subject), while the Catholic cinema critic Zachary Lee congratulated fervity, saying that he “makes a convincing and increased call for a renewed spiritual doubt, Me and monks and, doubt, doubt. ” THE real cardinals In assertion, being possibly the next pope is just as varied ideologically as those of “conclave”, which could make this conclave particular particularly difficult.

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People will always discuss theology and politics, but what about the most concrete elements of “conclave”? According to researchers from CnnMany large and small rituals surrounding the conclave were correct, cardinals arriving which gathered outside for rapid smoke with complex rules surrounding the voting process for the Pope, carried out in the Sistine Chapel. The locations are all impeccably recreated, from the sixtine chapel with the superb works of art from Michelangelo to the ceiling at the special guest house, the Domus Sancntae Marthae, where the cardinals remain during the Conclave, served by a team of nuns.

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It is also precise to seal the Pope’s room who died after the withdrawal of your body, checking in the Sistine Chapel for listening devices, the prudent sequestration of cardinals, Latin oaths sworn by the cardinals before each vote, and the use of different chemicals to modify the color of the smoke which rises burned voting cards: black for the decision and white to show a new pope. There have been differences with the way some tables are organized and some minor problems with things like smoke frequency, although it probably has to do with the simplification of narration.

Most of the vote in “conclave” is correct, because all the people involved must continue to vote until they reach a majority 2/3, writing their choices on paper ballots and swears before God. A different detail is that there are in fact two votes a day, not a single one, and each vote is burned, which led to the smoke which escapes twice a day instead as illustrated in the film. (Honestly, it is logical to rationalize it to one vote per day, for narration purposes.)

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The other minor inaccuracy which was called by Vatican experts has to do with the signaling ring of the deceased pope, the fisherman’s ring. In the film, he is carefully withdrawn from the Pope’s hand before he was taken to the state, but he was then destroyed in private. In real life, there is a special ceremony around the destruction of the ring of the previous pope, to ensure that there are no official declarations of the “Pope” which can occur after his death and before the rise of the new Pope. Again, it was probably a question of rationalizing the story, although it would have been interesting to see the mysterious ceremony on the screen.

The biggest inaccuracy of “conclave” comes from the inclusion of Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), who had been archbishop of Kabul, Afghanistan, and was admitted to the conclave despite having been confirmed in secret (in Pecctore). According to the Reverend Thomas Reese, principal analyst of the News Service religion, “the biggest error in the film was the admission of a cardinal to Pectore in the conclave. If the name is not announced publicly by the Pope in the presence of the Cardinals College, he is not allowed to participate in a conclave.” This means that it would be impossible for Cardinal Benitez to participate in the conclave, instead of being almost immediately accepted as happened in the film.

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And what about Final twist of the film and the ultimate choice For the new pope of this conclave? This has Catholics as divided as the rest of the film, so “precision” is in the eye of the spectator.