Conclave * * * *

Remember to make your vote count, you must number all the boxes.  

So this is how they elect a Pope. I always wondered how they went about it. It's a fairly arduous and testing procedure not much different from a  political party choosing its leader: You got your moderates, your lefties and your righties, not to mention your underhanded, unconscionable and ambitious players.  John Lithgow does a nice turn as one of those.

This excellent drama is adapted from the book of the same name and directed by Edward Berger 

Ralph Fiennes plays the Dean of Cardinals who has to oversee the procedure.  Kind of like the party whip.  His is an onerous and weighty task.

As the Electoral College of Cardinals are a sequestered bunch of lads it's nearly all interiors.  The whole film is supposedly set in the Vatican and the sets are so convincing you'd think that indeed the whole thing is indeed set in the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel. Overall it's visually beautiful.  Watch out for the scene with the white umbrellas.

The film tries to not be as exclusionist as reality with Isabella Rossellini playing an informed and outspoken Sister.

They might be Men of God but their human flaws are exposed and tested by the gravity of the task. The question might be asked are they alienated from the people - rather like politicians I suppose

Despite the machinations, for me it was pretty obvious who was going to be the newly elected Pope and I was relieved when he was,  but boy does he come up with a post-election surprise for us!

Their arguments do indeed evoke sympathy for each of the Cardinals and their individual convictions, even the right winger who'd like to see a more muscular church that pushes back against its critics, "We can do jihad too, just watch us".  He'd have been an interesting choice.