The cast itself is a reason to queue secret meeting. This psychological thriller comes from Everything is silent on the Western Front Helmer Edward Berg starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini. These geniuses are so rightly praised for their electrifying gravitas that what they do together on screen almost doesn’t matter. Yet the central secret of this Vatican-set story is filled with intrigue, biting humor and provocative plot twists.
Adapted from the 2016 novel of the same name by Robert Harris, secret meeting Bring the crowd behind a velvet curtain to take part in one of the Catholic Church’s most secret traditions, the election of a new pope. When a pope dies, cardinal electors from around the world gather in a papal conclave to vote for one of them to be promoted to the secular leadership of the church.
Whatever conversations, debates or politics take place during this meeting, it will take place behind closed doors – just like the cardinals themselves – while the world waits for their white smoke to indicate the outcome of the vote, and whether The necessary two-thirds majority was obtained. That’s all the background a layman needs to get into secret meeting. But those who have grown up in the faith may find richer meaning in its whispered drama and shocking revelations.
Starring Ralph Fiennes Secret meeting.
Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci star as cardinals in the papal conclave in “Conclave.”
Credit: Focus Features
There might be something darkly entertaining about seeing the British actor best known for playing the super-evil Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films playing a devout cardinal here. Of course, Fiennes has a lot of range, having made the leap from that dramatic, hissing wizard to the Coen brothers’ Hollywood spoofs. Long live Caesar! He plays a precise and exasperated director in front of Wes Anderson’s gorgeous concierge. grand budapest hotel. Laines can be anything from brash to lively, and here he is surrounded by vestments and decorum. But his potential Can The explosion brought a resounding sense of tension secret meeting From the beginning.
Fiennes plays Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the film’s hero, who not only serves as dean of the conclave, overseeing all the details, but also as an amateur detective, probing the secrets his brothers are hiding in order to elect a new pope. It wasn’t explicitly written in his job description, but when a secret meeting took place and worrying rumors surfaced, he felt compelled to find out the truth.
John Lithgow plays Cardinal Tremblay in “Conclave.”
Credit: Focus Features
Among this group of cardinals is Aldo Bellini (an impossibly calm Stanley Tucci), a soft-spoken progressive who denounces homophobia and advocates for women Play a greater role in the church. Although Aldo was the early favorite – a beloved friend of the last pope – Aldo faced the ultraconservative Tedesco (a very pompous Sergio Castro Little), whose agenda is to push the church back to the Dark Ages through the Latin Mass and vehemently rejects interfaith acceptance. Also included are the dubiously conciliatory Tremblay (a curiously sly John Lithgow), the cantankerous Adeyemi (a snarling Lucien Msamati) and Benitez ( Blessed Carlos DiHerz), a young cardinal unknown to the others before the conclave. Among the many actors, the award for Best Supporting Actor has just come to an end, where resentment, ambition and perseverance collide in intrigue and controversy.
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Lawrence struggled to conduct the conclave with dignity. But as shocking details about his brother emerge, his idealism is challenged by pragmatism. Should he eliminate sin and corruption if it means breaking with tradition? Does the end result—the appointment of a suitable pope—justify the means? Honestly, how do you legitimately elect a fallible person to a position that is infallible?
secret meeting is a complex, poignant, and riveting thriller.
Sergio Castellito plays Cardinal Tedesco in Conclave.
Credit: Focus Features
This is a film that understands the complexity of Catholicism, the collision of reason and faith, humanity and divinity
Here I admit that I am a Catholic who has been out of the faith for decades. Still, I was drawn to Berger’s canny direction, which satisfies the curiosity of those of us who have long had secret meetings shrouded in mystery. Although the plot secret meeting Because of the many scandalous elements involved, the characters’ reactions are often restrained (or, one might say, repressed). Even when speaking candidly about their personal politics, they are careful to remain silent, something I have learned from my experience working in churches, rectories, and Catholic schools.
The culture has a specific way of saying it, rather than saying it. Peter Straughan’s script understands this and plays off this subtlety brilliantly. Even the affable Aldo spoke in this indefinable way, saying he didn’t think parishioners should be told they had to have 10 children, instead of saying what he really meant: that he would be a pope supporting birth control . That’s a radical thing to say in the Vatican, and secret meeting Very clear. Yet this reluctance to confess also fuels the film’s central conflict, and what lies beneath the surface threatens to polarize.
Behind these men’s bright red robes and regal posture, they are just as flawed (perhaps more so) than the rest of us. secret meeting I don’t think this is some kind of shock to myself. Instead, the film is full of sympathy for the complex Cardinal. In Catholic terms, it may hate the sin, but not the sinner. Yet as our humble, fallible conduit, we see Lawrence struggling with this radical acceptance. We see his eyes sparkle as he reveals his betrayal. We feel his heart break as a skeleton falls out of a metaphorical closet. In these moments of internal turmoil, it’s easy to imagine the intense scenes of Oscar-winning actor.
Isabella Rossellini plays the spy Sister Agnes in “Conclave.”
Credit: Focus Features
Not everyone is willing to forgive, which is where Rossellini excelled as a nun serving in the Vatican. As the men roamed around as Lords of the Manor, she and her sisters could only be seen but not heard. But they would hear her. humor secret meeting is subtle, carefully choosing its quips to mitigate its heavy-handed preaching. But when Rossellini’s Sister Agnes delivers a tight-lipped speech before the cardinal and ends it with a brief bow, the small gesture is like a dropped microphone. Its delicate hilarity is liberating.
in the end, secret meeting This is not a story about sin or secrets, but a story about moving forward. When the dust settles—or the smoke rises—who will we be as a result of the choices we’ve made? The best part of Berger’s film may be the nuanced answers it provides for its hero, Lawrence, who dominates the film’s quiet final moments with a poignant power. But for the audience, we wonder not just what we might have done, but who we are in the face of the film’s ultimate reveal.
secret meeting Screened by Toronto International Film Festival judges; the film will be released in select theaters on November 1.
