By Nell Geraets
When Edward Berger’s Conclave landed in cinemas in January, few could have predicted how uncannily it would end up mirroring reality. Nearly four months after the release of the religious drama – about cardinals from around the world grappling with the election of a new pontiff – Pope Francis died, bringing his 12-year papacy to a close.
From female popes to rock’n’roll pontiffs, there are plenty of movies that lift the curtain on the secretive conclave.Credit: Compiled by Jamie Brown.
Given Conclave’s timing – and its strong awards season run, including a best film win at the BAFTAs – the drama quickly became a cultural touchstone for understanding the inner workings of this centuries-old sacred ritual. In fact, its viewership soared by 283 per cent just one day after the pontiff’s death.
Now, a real-life conclave is set to begin. From May 7, cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new spiritual leader, continuing a tradition that has formally existed since the 13th century.
While many are turning to Conclave for insight into this secretive process, several other films bring you inside the room where it happens, ranging from earnest dramas to ludicrous comedies.
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
Michael Anderson’s Cold War-era film, based on a novel by Morris West, explores what happens when global politics seep into the traditional cloistered world of the Catholic Church.
Led by a star-studded cast, including Anthony Quinn and Laurence Olivier, the film follows Ukrainian archbishop Kiril Pavlovich Lakota, who is released from a Siberian labour camp and sent to Rome to become a cardinal. When the pope dies shortly after, Lakota finds himself in a conclave that ultimately elects him as the new Holy Father, largely thanks to his opposition to nuclear war.
Like Conclave, the film traces the rise of a relative underdog, examining how such a figure might reposition the Church within the broader world, especially one on the brink of war.
The Pope Must Die(t) (1991)
Apparently, even the Vatican isn’t immune to administrative error. In this gloriously absurd comedy, a party-loving priest played by the late Robbie Coltrane (best known as Hagrid from Harry Potter) is accidentally elected as the new pope following a conclave ballot error. Once he’s inside the holy walls, he realises it has been overrun by the Mafia, a discovery that eventually puts a mark on his back.
It’s a wholly unserious film – a welcome breath of irreverence amid the earnestness of other papal election films. But it may have been taken a little too seriously at the time of its release: the title was changed to The Pope Must Diet on some posters, amid concerns that the original encouraged violence and an anti-Catholic stance.
Pope Joan (2009)
While most papal election films are relative dude fests (only men can be ordained as cardinals, after all), this film switches things up in a big way.
Directed by German filmmaker Sönke Wortmann, it tells the legend of the first and only female pope who purportedly served as head of the Church for about three years during the Middle Ages. A young woman disguises herself as a monk, travels to Rome and climbs the ranks of the Vatican – only to face exposure when a pregnancy threatens to reveal her secret.
Though historians have largely debunked the myth of a female pope, and the Italian Bishops’ Conference newspaper L’Avvenire dismissed the film at the time of its release, calling it “a hoax” with “extremely limited vision”, it’s a story made for the silver screen – in fact, another film based on the same account was made in 1972 starring Ingmar Bergman.
Habemus papam (2011)
Named after the Latin phrase meaning “we have a pope”, this Nanni Moretti film follows the emotional breakdown of a newly elected pontiff.
Upon being chosen to lead the Holy See, Cardinal Melville is overwhelmed by a crushing sense of responsibility, leading him to a psychoanalyst (played by Moretti himself) who attempts to reinstate his confidence, certainty and faith. Though this Italian-French film is heavier on the laughs than Conclave, it explores the human side of the Vatican similarly, considering the weight such a title could have on just one man.
The Two Popes (2019)
Unlike the others, Fernando Meirelles’ film is based on a true story with Pope Francis (formerly known as Jorge Bergoglio) as one of its leading characters. After eight years as pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) steps down and hopes to see Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) – an archbishop with entirely different views and philosophies – assume his role. A much slower burn than Conclave, The Two Popes reveals the intricacies of a rare occurrence within the Catholic Church – two popes meeting to discuss the future of Catholicism.
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