[Nicolai P. Zwar]

CONCLAE (Edward Berger, 2024) 6/10
Saw this yesterday. Pretty good mystery thriller, based on a book by Robert Harris. When the pope dies, it’s up to Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) to organize and guide the Conclave toward choosing the next leader of the Church. And just before the doors seal, the two unexpected things happen to get the story into motion: A secretly ordained Cardinal appears out of nowhere, and a whispered warning by the secretary of the College of Cardinals casts suspicion on Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (excellent as always: John Lithgow). While it’s now up to reluctant Cardinal Lawrence to uncover the truth, in the background, several outside explosions indicate Rom itself is under terrorist attack.

Neat setup for a mystery thriller. The production design is rich, the cinematography precise, and the performances uniformly excellent. (When I re-read this… yes, I know this is a “triplet”… I’ve always liked to use them, not just A.I… but there’s a reason A.I. loves triplets… it’s an old rhetoric device… I have always used them too, so I don’t let it stop me. I already stopped with the em-dashes…) And Volker Bertelmann’s score greatly enhanced the atmosphere, with a music score that felt like feels like an Arvo Pärt composition stripped down to bone and nerve, with all the warmth removed. A thriller that understands the power of a closed door.