Conclave

Story

The Pope has died and it falls on Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), as dean, to organise the conclave to elect the new pope. There are 4 main contenders for the position: Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), a moderate; Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), a rigid traditionalist; Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), a liberal; and Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), also quite traditional in some respects. A late entrant into the mix is Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), a recently appointed cardinal from Kabul.

There is much political intrigue, conniving and conspiracy involved, which Lawrence tries to uncover. It seems that Tremblay was recently asked to resign by the former pope for gross misconduct. Tremblay denies this but is found to have used bribery to gain the top position. He also invited a nun from Nigeria, Sister Shanumi (Balkissa Maiga), in order to expose an affair she had with Adeyemi, which resulted in the birth of a son. Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini) does her best to keep this secret but Lawrence eventually discovers it. Another mystery is why the Pope had paid for Benitez to attend a clinic in Switzerland, an appointment he didn’t keep. The final result reveals a surprising twist in the plot.

Themes

Conspiracy; the Catholic Church; illicit affairs; intersex; sexual scandals; religious intolerance

Violence

Conclave has some violence. For example:

Mention is made of a car bomb exploding on the streets of Rome.
During a ballot, an explosion is felt in the hall, smoke pours through the chimney and Lawrence is knocked to the ground. It was caused by a person with explosives strapped to his body and killed hundreds of people.
Tedesco berates Islam and says he’s ashamed that Italy has tolerated it. He says that a leader is needed who ‘will fight these animals’.
There are some high tension arguments amongst the cardinals.

Sexual references

Conclave has some sexual references. For example, Adeyemi was 39 and Shanumi was 19 when they had an affair. She gave birth to a son who she gave up for adoption.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Conclave has some substance use. For example:

Several of the cardinals smoke.
Wine is drunk with dinner.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Conclave.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Conclave.

Coarse language

Conclave has some coarse language. For example, ‘God no’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Conclave is an insight into what goes on during a conclave, when cardinals are sequestered while choosing the new pope. The movie has all of the intrigue, melodrama and conspiracy plots of a general election, with an unexpected and uplifting twist at the end. Due to its themes and intensity, Conclave is more suited to teens and adults, and is likely to hold little interest for children.

These are the main messages from Conclave:

It’s more important to have a good, honest heart than to be merely ambitious.
Goodness triumphs over self-interest.

Values in Conclave that you could reinforce with your children include honesty, hope, love, and not giving in to hate.

Conclave could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of wrongdoing and being motivated by the desire for power.