Director: Edward Berger
Behind sealed doors and centuries-old ritual, Edward Berger's Conclave turns the election of a new pope into one of 2024's sharpest political thrillers.
What is Conclave about?
When the Pope dies suddenly, Cardinal Lawrence is handed the delicate task of overseeing the secretive process that will choose his successor. Locked inside the Vatican with dozens of the Church's most senior cardinals until a decision is reached, Lawrence expects tradition and procedure to guide the days ahead. Instead, rival factions begin maneuvering for influence, old secrets surface among the leading candidates, and Lawrence realizes the vote is being shaped by ambition as much as faith. Cut off from the outside world and increasingly unsure whom to trust among his colleagues, he finds himself pulled toward the center of a conspiracy that threatens to upend the institution he has spent his life serving.
Cast & crew
Ralph Fiennes carries the film as Cardinal Lawrence, supported by a formidable ensemble including Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati, Carlos Diehz, Sergio Castellitto, and Brían F. O'Byrne as fellow cardinals with sharply differing agendas.
Context & significance
Director Edward Berger, known for the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front, brings the same disciplined, tension-building craft to a story confined almost entirely to Vatican corridors and chambers. Conclave treats the papal election less as a religious ceremony and more as a closed-door power struggle, using its United Kingdom and United States production backing to render Vatican ritual with meticulous, immersive detail. The film's tight focus on procedure, whispered alliances, and shifting loyalties gives the thriller a slow-burn intensity that rewards close attention rather than spectacle, making the mechanics of the vote itself the source of suspense.
Where & how to watch
Conclave is available to stream on K-Time with a free account login, offering a Farsi-friendly viewing experience along with Persian dubbing and subtitles for viewers who prefer to watch in Persian.